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Ally Financial Inc. has reached a near $20 million settlement deal to resolve a class action lawsuit claiming that the company hit vehicle owners with hidden fees that were allegedly not listed in their lease-to-own agreements.
The consumers who filed the Ally Financial class action lawsuit have asked a Florida federal judge to approve a $19.7 million settlement agreement.
In the deal, $2.95 million are allocated for attorney fees. The rest of the funds will be paid to Class Members to compensate for 100 percent of the hidden fees they were allegedly charged.
These payments will average around $238, reportedly. Additionally, the Ally Financial class action settlement will include a $5,000 award for class representative Robert Schreiber, who brought forward the Ally Financial fees class action lawsuit.
The payment rate was allegedly determined from the records available from agreements made with Ally, which showed that consumers paid between $50 and $1,000 in hidden fees. The average of these fees was determined to be $238.06.
According to Schreiber, the deal is an “exceptional result for the class. It offers class members benefits approaching or equivalent to a complete trial victory without the risks, costs, and delay of continued litigation, a trial, and possibly an appeal.”
The Ally Financial class action settlement is the result of more than two years of legal back and forth, reportedly.
Schreiber initially brought the Ally vehicle lease class action lawsuit forward in 2014. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles had ordered the Ally Financial class action lawsuit to arbitration upon Ally’s request, but then reversed that decision after a challenge from Schreiber.
As a result of this settlement agreement, Schreiber seeks to certify a Class of consumers around the country who purchased vehicles and were hit with additional dealer and documentary fees that were not included in written agreements. This Class will allegedly include consumers who purchased vehicles as far back as 2009.
The initial Ally Financial hidden fees class action lawsuit alleged that Ally Financial made a practice of charging consumers hidden fees when they signed up for SmartLease Contracts.
The SmartLease program gave drivers the opportunity to purchase the vehicle they had been leasing at the end of their lease. However, consumers claimed that if they did want to purchase a vehicle, they had to pay fees not delineated in the SmartLease contract. In Schreiber’s case, these fees allegedly totaled $400.
Schreiber and the other affected consumers claim that the hidden fees that they were required to pay represent a breach of contract on the part of Ally Financial, and a violation of the federal Consumer Leasing Act.
Ally continues to deny any wrongdoing on its part, saying that “Ally continues to believe that its customers experience is best in class, but also believes that settling the case at this time is in the best interest of all parties.”
Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.
Schreiber and the proposed Class are represented by Peter Prieto, John Gravante, Matthew P. Weinshall and Alissa Del Riego of Podhurst Orseck PA and Daniel Alberstone, Roland Tellis, and Jonas P. Mann of Baron & Budd PC.
The Ally Financial Hidden Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Schreiber v. Ally Financial Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-22069, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
UPDATE: August 2018, the Ally Financial hidden auto leasing fees class action settlement is now open.Click here to file a claim.
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28 thoughts onAlly Financial Reaches $20M Hidden Fees Class Action Settlement
They are doing this to me currently and have been doing it for 2 and a half years. I got an auto loan from Ally back in April 2017, and I missed one payment back in Jan 2018, and made it up in the next month by paying for January and February plus the late fee for January and February even though my payment was on time that month. So I was already back to being current, but they never set me to caught up, so they added another late fee from January onto my total hoping I wouldn’t notice. And every month since January 2018 they hadn’t told me I was behind(cause I wasn’t) or that I was accruing late fees they just added it to my balance hoping I didn’t do the math, even if I wasn’t late, and if I was late I had to pay a late fees, then they also added another to my total. Now I just noticed because the last few months I fell behind and I finally paid them 1058 dollars, and only around 500 was taken from total, so it was pretty easy to see something wasn’t right. They’ve been blindly adding late fees to my total after every payment for 2 and a half years, even if I wasn’t late, and if I was late I pay a late fee and get one added on. In my opinion Ally Financial is a criminal organization.
I used Ally Bank in 2019 to finance my 2016 Chevy Silverado. Ended up getting the truck for $20k plus tax title. I put $10k down. I Never missed or made a late payment while having the truck. On December 22nd, 2020 my truck was repo’d and then shortly afterwards was sold at auction. Called Ally to find out how much I owed or if they owed me anything. I was told the balance at time of repo was 17,875 and that they sold my truck at auction for 16,100(and some change) Ally sent me a bill for $1,775. I have the sales paperwork showing the final price of truck, my 10k down payment the amount I financed and the monthly payment. Sent them a copy and was told that I’m wrong and that the dealer kept the money.. Idk what to do or if I should take them to court