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Approximately 1,800 Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio consumers will receive letters this week notifying them they may qualify to receive redress under the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission's settlement with Mercantile Mortgage Company. The FTC alleged that Mercantile misrepresented terms of mortgage loans to consumers, and that Mercantile violated certain credit statutes.

To qualify for part of the $250,000 redress pool, consumers must have obtained a mortgage loan that requires a balloon payment directly from Mercantile or broker Mark Diamond in Illinois, between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2001, To be eligible for redress, consumers must certify that they were unaware that a balloon payment would be required. Consumers will be required to complete a short eligibility form, and return the form to the address provided in the notice to qualify for redress under the settlement. Consumers may be eligible for a cash payment from the redress pool and a no-cost or low-cost refinance from Mercantile into a 30-year fixed loan on favorable terms.

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Contact Information

Media Contact:
FTC Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2180