Ally Financial Reaches $20M Hidden Fees Class Action Settlement

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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.”

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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.