Case Information

“[N]early all students are looking for ways to pay for school and may find themselves susceptible to unfair and abusive financial practices.” –U.S. PIRG Education Fund, The Campus Debit Card Trap:  Are Bank Partnerships Fair to Students

Higher One is a corporation that manages financial aid refunds for colleges and came under fire for treating college students unfairly.  It allegedly created bank accounts containing students’ financial aid money without the students’ permission, deceived those students into activating the accounts, and charged them unfair and deceptive fees for obtaining their money.  Click on this link to read The Campus Debit Card Trap:  Are Bank Partnerships Fair to Students? by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a non-profit organization that works to protect consumers.

The Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, along with The Simon Law Firm, P.C., brought a lawsuit against Higher One and companies involved with it on behalf of a proposed class of students at St.  Louis Community College.  We sought to recover the allegedly deceptive and unfair fees that these students paid.  Click on this link to see the Petition we filed in the Circuit Court for St. Louis County, later removed to federal court, DeClue v. Higher One, Inc., et al.

This case has now been settled as part of the In re Higher One OneAccount Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation MDL proceeding in the District of Connecticut.  A nationwide classwide settlement, including Missouri class members, in the amount of $15 million, plus significant changes in company policies, was given final approval from the court.  Our client, a former student at St. Louis Community College, received an Incentive Award of $5,000.