Hawaii to share
$2.1 million settlement

Isle residents who obtained
mortgages through lender
Household International
may be eligible

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Associated Press

More than 2,500 Hawaii residents are eligible for part of a $2.1 million settlement with Household International over alleged deceptive and unfair lending practices, the state announced yesterday.

Mark E. Recktenwald, director of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, said Hawaii borrowers would soon be notified by mail of their eligibility for refunds of loan fees and finance charges paid to Household.

Consumers who obtained mortgage loans directly from Household International from January 1999 through September 2002 are eligible. Payments will range from $25 to more than $14,000, the state said.

"We are pleased to negotiate a strong settlement with Household, but we are even more pleased to see money flowing back to deserving Hawaii consumers," Recktenwald said.

The refunds are part of a $484 million settlement involving all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

State officials claimed Household International overcharged borrowers with fees and interest and misled them on other loan terms. They also alleged Household concealed the true expense of its home loans, often adding thousands of dollars for insurance policies, and failed to adequately explain fees.

The settlement was the largest ever obtained by state attorneys general in a consumer protection case.

Household is one of the nation's largest sub-prime mortgage lenders.