Countrywide Data Theft Class Action Settlement

Countrywide has reached a class action lawsuit settlement concerning the theft of personal and financial information from their customer databases. If you provide personal information or made mortgage payments to Countrywide before July 1, 2008, you may be entitled to benefits such as reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and identity theft losses from the Countrywide data theft settlement.

The Countrywide class action lawsuit was filed after it was learned in August 2008 that a senior financial advisor formerly employed by Countrywide allegedly stole the private information of millions of consumers from Countrywide’s records and sold or attempted to sell it to third parties.

The class action lawsuit, entitled In Re: Countrywide Financial Corp. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, alleges that Countrywide did not adequately protect consumers’ personal and financial information. The stolen information included names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, office addresses, telephone numbers, credit account information, bank account information, employment history and information, and other information people may have provided on mortgage applications or other mortgage documents with Countrywide or any mortgage serviced by Countrywide.

Class members of the Countrywide data theft class action settlement include everyone in the United States who (1) received a letter from Countrywide anytime from August 2, 2008 to and including November 2, 2008, notifying them that their personal information was involved in an alleged theft committed by a Countrywide employee; or (2) who obtained a mortgage from Countrywide or whose mortgage was serviced by Countrywide prior to July 1, 2008. (Countrywide, for this purpose, does not include Bank of America.)

The Countrywide data theft settlement offers a variety of benefits to class members depending on whether you were sent a letter or notice from Countrywide, where you live and whether or not you accepted Countrywide’s prior offer of two years of credit monitoring. Complete details of all the settlement benefits from the Countrywide Data Settlement can be found in the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website at www.CWdataclaims.com.