Slowly but surely more and more news outlets are beginning to cover the details about the recent class action lawsuit brought against several major credit card companies over how they charged foreign transaction fees. That’s good for those who don’t know about settlement because, if this site is any indication, many consumers are still unaware that they might be eligible to receive a refund for any fees they may have paid to these credit card companies while traveling internationally.

KOMO TV out of Seattle, Washington, reported yesterday that consumers will continue to be notified about the lawsuit through various means over the coming weeks:

First notification of the settlement went out last month as inserts in card holder’s statements. Sweeney says stand-alone notices will be mailed in the next couple of months to cardholders who do not get a regular monthly statement. Additionally, Sweeney says public notices are planned for various travel publications and major national news publications, such as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. [read more...]

From the sounds of things, there are still a significant number of people who have yet to hear about their refund opportunities. However, there may be one drawback. KOMO reports that “actual refunds will depend upon final approval by the court, and on the number of valid claims filed. Final approval is scheduled for Nov. 7 in New York. Plaintiff’s attorney Bonny Sweeney of San Diego tells me the refunds could range from 1% to 3% of your total transactions — or possibly more.”

“It will depend on the number of claims, when you used the card, and which credit card you used because the fees were different at different times,” Sweeney explained by telephone.

One might assume that the more claims received, the less of a refund consumers will receive. Even more interesting is that refunds might be higher than 3%. Since few companies charged more than 3%, the refund could exceed the actual fee paid. For those of us who have already completed our refund applications, getting the word out to more people about the lawsuit will likely reduce the refund we receive. But keeping my mouth shut defeats the whole purpose of this site!