LoanPoint USA, a Kansas-based internet payday loan company, has agreed to forgive hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt in a Montana class-action lawsuit settlement.
Tiffany Kelker of Billings, Mont., first sued over a $500 loan in 2011. She had paid more than $2,100 to LoanPoint over six months, but still owed the original $500.
Kelker was paying 800 to 1,000 percent annual interest, according to attorney John Heenan. Montana law caps the rate at 36 percent. More than 400 people joined the lawsuit.
Under the settlement approved Wednesday, LoanPoint agreed to forgive the outstanding balances for those involved in the lawsuit, the Billings Gazette reported. The 335 borrowers who repaid LoanPoint will share in a $233,000 settlement.
LoanPoint previously settled similar cases with other states, Heenan said.
