You might get a refund check from the FTC if you were scammed by bogus financial services

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it will send checks to people who were scammed by Life Management Services of Orange County, LLC, and related companies. Victims were tricked into buying services that promised to eliminate debt and gave guarantees of reducing their credit card interest rates, which the FTC said were “worthless.” The services were sold via robocalls.

“The defendants made phony guarantees about lowering consumers’ credit card interest rates and saving them thousands of dollars in interest payments,” the FTC said. “Customers made up-front payments but rarely, if ever, got the promised services. The defendants also pitched a bogus credit card debt elimination service, falsely claiming that they could access funds from the government or from a lawsuit against the credit card industry to pay off consumers’ credit card debt.”

The total amount the FTC has to refund afford individuals is $540,000 and the commission says it will begin mailing out checks to more than 4,600 impacted consumers. (You can see a state-by-state breakdown here.) The average amount of each check is $117.

The FTC says that those who have questions about their refunds should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 1-877-381-0342. It is also emphasizing that those who receive the refund checks should cash them within 90 days as indicated on the check.

Those who have questions about the refund process can visit the FTC’s Refund Programs FAQ here.