Who is a Class Member
You are included in the the Campus Debt TCPA class action settlement “if on or after October 16, 2013, your cellular telephone was called by Education Financial Solutions LLC d/b/a Campus Debt Solutions advertising student loan consolidation and loan forgiveness services, allegedly using an automated telephone dialing system.”
If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Settlement Amount
- $1,100,000.00
Estimated Award
- $20
The amount remaining after deducting Settlement costs, attorneys’ fees and plaintiff service award will be paid pro rata (equal disbursement) to Settlement Class Members. It is estimated that each Settlement Class Member will receive approximately $20.00.
Proof of Purchase
- N/A
Claim Form
Note: If you received a notice of the settlement you do NOT have to submit a claim form. If you did not receive a notice, then you need to update your address, which you can do by clicking on the File a Claim link above.
Campus Debt TCPA Settlement Notes
- Cabiness v. Educational Financial Solutions LLC
- Case No. 16-cv-01109-JST
- Pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
In March 2016, plaintiff Winifred Cabiness filed this class action lawsuit against Educational Financial Solutions LLC d/b/a Campus Debt Solutions alleging the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA.
The TCPA prohibits and forbids the use of an Automatic Telephone Dialing System to place calls to cell phones. Sometime prior to May 2015, Campus Debt gained control of a telephone number – (800) 848-0979 – that used to belong to the United States Department of Education. the DoED had previously used the number as a call center for federally backed student loans and had it listed in the number on both DoEd forms and websites.
In mid-May 2016, Cabiness attempted to contact the DoEd regarding her student loans. She found the (800) 848-0979 number listed on one of her old DoEd account statements and she called it, unaware that the number had since been acquired by CDS. On the call with CDS, the CDS representative remained vague about his identity and employer, and Cabiness believed that she was speaking with a representative of the DoEd.
The CDS representative requested and obtained her social security number, her full name, and her login credentials for the National Student Loan Data System – the DoEd’s website for borrowers to access their loan information. However, when the representative pressed Cabiness for authorization to withdraw fees directly from her bank account, she became suspicious about with whom she was speaking, and told the representative that she would call back the next day.
When she attempted to call the representative back the next day, she was connected to a message system that identified the company, not as DoED, but as Campus Debt Solutions. She immediately ended the call and did not call back again. But over the next several days, an employee of CDS named Daniel Benitez repeatedly called her cell phone and tried to pressure her to enter into a loan repayment plan through CDS.
Concerned and upset by the constant calls, Cabiness sought legal advice at the East Bay Community Law Center. With the EBCLC’s help, Cabiness sent an email to CDS asking to be placed on CDS’ do not call list. However, the calls did not stop and her request was ignored, forcing Cabiness to take legal action.
Campus Debt denies all allegations of wrongdoing in the lawsuit. Complete details about the case and settlement are provided on the Campus Debt TCPA settlement website.
Important Dates
- 9/24/18: Objection or Exclusion Deadline
- 11/15/18: Final Hearing at 2:00 pm PT* (class members do not need to attend this hearing in order to receive a slice of the settlement pie).
*Settlement Class Members who wish to speak at the hearing should check www.CDSPhoneCallSettlement.com to confirm that the date or time of the Hearing has not been changed.
Contact Information
- Mail: Cabiness v. Educational Financial Services, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 59285, Philadelphia, PA 19102-9285
- Phone: 1-844-367-8805
Class Counsel
- Bryan Kemnitzer, Nancy Baron, and Elliot Conn of Kemnitzer Barron & Krieg LLP
- Sharon Djemal of East Bay Community Law Center
Settlement Website