Household-Beneficial Settlement FAQ

1. Who qualifies to participate in the settlement?

To participate in the settlement, a customer must:

a. have been a resident of Utah when he or she obtained a loan,
b. have borrowed money from Household Finance or Beneficial Finance
c. have had a real-estate loan (including mortgage loans or home equity loans), and
d. have a loan that was made between January 1, 1999 and September 30, 2002.

2. How much money will be distributed?

Utah's portion of the $484 million settlement payment is approximately $4.3 million. With accumulated interest and $50,000 contributed by the state from attorneys fees paid to us by Household, the available funds to distribute to Utah customers will be a little over $4.4 million.

3. How may utah customers are eligible for the settlement?

According to information provided by Household to the State of Utah, there are about 5,800 customers in Utah. These customers have around 8,060 different loans. The amount of these loans is $367,286,567.83. This means the settlement amount for Utah customers equals 1.2% of the total loan value.

4. How will Utah settlement money be distributed?

Utah's distribution plan is designed to direct more settlement funds to those customers who suffered the greatest harm from Household's and Beneficial's lending practices. Five categories of harm were identified.

a. paying more than three points to (buy a lower interest rate),
b. interest rates higher than 12% for real estate loans and higher than 18% for personal home loans (home equity loans),
c. prepayment penalties paid in excess of 3% of the loan amount,
d. purchase of loan insurance, life insurance, or disability insurance, and
e. equity stripping (a loan-to-value ratio exceeding 100%).

Each Utah customer will receive a minimum payment of $50.00. You can review Utah's distribution plan by clicking here.

5. Will there be a minimum payment to each customer?

Each Utah customer that had a real estate loan from Household or Beneficial between January 1, 1999 and September 30, 2002 will receive a minimum payment of $50.00. Customers will receive at least this amount, even if he or she did not pay high points, interest rates, prepayment penalties, insurance, or high loan loan-to-value ratios.

6. How do I determine how much I will receive?

You need do nothing to determine how much you will receive. You do not have to list your loans on the claim form or give any information about your loans. Household and Beneficial already provided information about each loan to the State of Utah and to the settlement administrator. This information included details about each loan. The loan information sent to the State of Utah did not include the names of the customers.

The settlement administrator used the formula provided by the State of Utah to calculate the amount each Utah borrower would receive in the settlement. Each customer will be sent a letter from the settlement administrator giving the amount the customer will offered in the settlement.

7. What is the settlement process?

The settlement administrator will calculate the amount each customer will be offered in the settlement. On August 15, 2003, each customer will be sent a letter and a "release" form from the settlement administrator. That release form will identify the minimum amount the customer will receive if he or she accepts the settlement.

Each customer will have until October 14 to accept the settlement. If the customer does not want to participate in the settlement, he or she needs to do nothing. Customers will participate in the settlement only if they affirmatively sign the release form and send it to the settlement administrator.

All the settlement funds will be divided among only those customers who accept the settlement. Thus, if some customers decide not to accept the settlement - or simply fail to return the signed release before the deadline - their portion of the settlement will be divided among those customers choosing to accept the settlement. When the deadline for submitting releases has passed, the settlement administrator will recalculate the settlements amounts for each customer that accepted the settlement. The total settlement fund will be recalculated and the entire amount divided among those that accept the settlement.

8. Is the amount listed on my release form the final amount?

The settlement payment for each customer listed on the release form being mailed August 15 is based on each customer accepting the settlement. The final settlement payment is expected to be higher because the settlement amount will be divided only among those customers who accept the settlement. Customers who accept the settlement and submit a signed release form likely will receive actual payments higher than listed on the release form.

9. What information do I need to include in the claim form?

To accept the settlement, you need only sign the release form and send it in before October 14, 2003. The release form already lists the minimum amount you will receive in the settlement and the loan numbers for your loans. You do not have to find records of your loans or calculate how your loan(s) compared to the distribution plan devised by the State of Utah.

10. How do I contact the settlement administrator?

You can contact the settlement administrator by calling 1-800-780-2156, visiting the Website at www.Household-Beneficial-Settlement.com , or by mail ar P.O. Box 3775, Portland, OR 97208-3775.

11. How do I contact the State of Utah?

You can contact the Utah Attorney General's Office by E-mail at ijensen@utah.gov , by telephone at 801-366-0310, or by mail at P.O. Box 140872, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-0872.

12. What if I have already paid off my loan?

So long as your loan was a real estate loan obtained between January 1, 1999 and September 30, 2002, you qualify for participation in the settlement even if your loan has be paid off or refinanced.

13. When can I expect to receive my payment?

Checks are scheduled to be mailed in the middle of December, 2003. The check you receive may be larger than the amount listed on the release form if some customers decide not to accept the settlement.