Some North Carolinians Eligible for Collection Agency Refunds

RALEIGH, N.C., April 11 -- The North Carolina Department of Insurance issued the following news release:

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced today that North Carolina customers of the collection agency AllianceOne Receivables Management may be eligible for refunds if they paid processing fees to the company when making a payment.

After receiving a complaint from a consumer about a processing fee charged by AllianceOne, the North Carolina Department of Insurance discovered the company had collected $20,912.50 in fees from North Carolina consumers, with individual fees ranging from five to ten dollars.

Rather than face an administrative hearing to determine whether charging the fees was in violation of state law*, AllianceOne voluntarily agreed to pay a civil penalty of $21,412.50 for the fees collected and for failing to report to NCDOI administrative actions taken against the company in other states. The civil penalty is to benefit public schools in North Carolina in accordance with Article IX, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution.

AllianceOne has also agreed to stop collecting processing fees from North Carolina consumers and is to fully reimburse any North Carolina customer who paid the company a processing fee between June 1, 2010, and June 5, 2013.

Consumers who wish to request a refund should send a written request to the following address before March 3, 2015:

Roy Buchholz

AllianceOne Receivables Management, Inc.

3000 Ames Crossing, Suite 750

Eagan, MN 55121

For questions about the refund, contact AllianceOne at 651-255-2001 or the North Carolina Department of Insurance at 800-546-5664.

*AllianceOne does not acknowledge any wrongdoing and denies it has violated NCGS section58-70-1 et seq.

CC AutoTriage5rn-140412-30FurigayJane-4701826 30FurigayJane