Terms that apply to both the revolving WebBank/Fingerhut Credit Account and the WebBank/Fingerhut FreshStart Installment Loan
Important Information About Procedures For Opening A New Account: To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you obtain a WebBank/Fingerhut Fetti Credit Account or a WebBank/Fingerhut FreshStart Installment Loan, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask for your driver's license number or other identifying information.
Arbitration: Please review this provision carefully. It provides that any dispute may be resolved by binding arbitration. Arbitration replaces the right to go to court and the right to have a jury decide a dispute. Under this provision, your rights may be substantially limited in the event of a dispute. You may opt out of this Arbitration provision by following the instructions below.
If you are a Covered Borrower under the Military Lending Act, the provisions of this WebBank/Fingerhut Credit Account relating to arbitration do not apply to this WebBank/Fingerhut Credit Account involving consumer credit.
By accepting this Agreement, unless you opt out by following the instructions below, you agree that either you or we, at our sole discretion, can choose to have any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement or our relationship resolved by binding arbitration. If arbitration is chosen by any party, neither you nor we will have the right to litigate that dispute in court or to have a jury trial on that dispute. Pre-arbitration discovery will be permitted only as allowed by the arbitration rules. In addition, you will not have the right to participate as a representative or member of any class of claimants pertaining to any dispute subject to arbitration. The arbitrator's decision will generally be final and binding. Other rights that you would have if you went to court may also not be available in arbitration. It is important that you read the entire Arbitration provision carefully before accepting the terms of this Agreement.
For purposes of this Arbitration provision, “dispute” shall be construed as broadly as possible, and shall include any claim, dispute or controversy (whether in contract, regulatory, tort or otherwise, whether pre existing, present or future and including constitutional, statutory, common law, intentional tort and equitable claims) arising from or relating to this Agreement, the credit offered or provided to you, or the goods or services you purchase; the actions of yourself, us, or third parties; or the validity of this Agreement or this Arbitration provision. It includes disputes brought as counterclaims, cross claims, or third party claims. A party that has brought a dispute in a court may elect to arbitrate any other dispute that may be raised in that litigation. Disputes brought as part of a class action or other representative basis are subject to arbitration on an individual (nonclass, non-representative) basis. IF YOU DO NOT OPT OUT, THEN YOU WILL HAVE WAIVED YOUR RIGHT TO INDICATE OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT. In this Arbitration provision, the words “we,” “us,” and “our” shall include WebBank and any assignees of any of WebBank's rights, any merchant from which you purchased goods or services using your Account, as well as their respective affiliates, servicers, employees, agents, and further assigns.
Any arbitration under this Arbitration provision shall be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under the rules applicable to the resolution of consumer disputes in effect when the dispute is filed. The arbitrator shall have no authority to hear any disputes on a class action or representative basis. Neither you nor we may consolidate or join the disputes of other persons who may have similar disputes into a single arbitration, other than the disputes of or against joint account holders. You may obtain rules and forms by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879 or visiting www.adr.org. Any arbitration hearing that you attend will take place in the Federal judicial district where you reside. We will not elect arbitration of any dispute that is filed as an individual matter by you in a small claims or similar court, so long as the dispute is pending on an individual basis in such court.
A single, neutral arbitrator will decide any disputes. The arbitrator must be either a retired or former judge or a lawyer with no less than 10 years' experience, selected in accordance with the AAA's rules. The arbitrator will apply applicable substantive law consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act and applicable statutes of limitations, will honor claims of privilege under applicable law, and will have the power to award to a party any damages or other relief provided under applicable law. Any party may choose to have a hearing, and may choose to be represented by counsel. The arbitrator will issue an award in writing and, upon request, will provide a written explanation for the award. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
The party initiating an arbitration must pay the AAA's initial filing fee, although you can ask the AAA to waive the filing fee and we will consider your request that we pay the filing fee on your behalf. For an individual arbitration, we will pay any subsequent administration fees imposed by the AAA, and we will pay the arbitrator's fee for up to one day of hearings. All other fees will be allocated as provided by the AAA's rules and applicable law. If you prevail in arbitration, we will reimburse you any fees paid to the AAA. However, even if we prevail, we will not seek reimbursement from you of any fees we paid to the AAA unless the arbitrator determines that your dispute was brought in bad faith. Each party shall bear its own costs of attorneys, experts, and witness fees, regardless of which party prevails in the arbitration. However, if applicable substantive law gives you the right to seek reimbursement of attorneys' fees or other fees or costs, then that right shall also apply in the arbitration.
Informal Resolution: If you have a Dispute against us or if we have a dispute against you, we will attempt to resolve the Dispute informally before an arbitration is filed in order to resolve the Dispute faster and reduce costs for both parties. You and we will make a good-faith effort to negotiate the resolution of any Dispute for at least 30 days (“Informal Resolution”) from the day you or we receive a written notice of a dispute from the other party (a “Notice of Dispute”) in accordance with these Terms.
You must send any Notice of Dispute to the following address:
WebBank/Fingerhut Arbitration
ATTN: Legal Department ‐ Notice of Dispute
P.O. Box 0260
St. Cloud, MN 56395-0260
We will send any Notice of Dispute to ATTN: NOTICE OF DISPUTE to the email address and the current mailing address you have provided us. The Notice of Dispute sent by either party must include the sender's name, address, and other contact information, a description of the Dispute (including any relevant account numbers), and what resolution to the Dispute is being sought.
The Notice requirement is designed to allow us (or you, in the case of a dispute we assert against you) to make a fair, fact-based offer of settlement if we or you choose to do so. You and we cannot proceed to arbitration unless this information has been provided. If you or we proceed to arbitration without providing a compliant Notice of Dispute, the sufficiency of a Notice of Dispute is an issue to be decided by a court. A court may enjoin the filing of an arbitration demand that has not been preceded by a compliant Notice of Dispute and may order a party that has filed an arbitration demand without having provided a compliant Notice of Dispute to reimburse the other party for any arbitration fees and costs already incurred.
We hope you'll try Informal Resolution first, and you must do so before commencing an arbitration, but you don't have to before going to court.
Coordinated Filings: If 25 or more Disputes are initiated with the arbitrator that raise similar claims, and counsel for the claimants are the same or coordinated, these will be considered “Coordinated Cases.” Any Coordinated Cases arbitration will be conducted by the AAA under the then-current version of the AAA's Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules and fee and cost schedules. We will pay only our share of arbitration fees for Coordinated Cases; the claimants will be responsible for their share of those fees. Applicable statutes of limitations will be tolled during the Informal Resolution process for all claimants who have provided compliant Notices of Dispute to us, but demands for arbitration in Coordinated Cases shall only be filed with the arbitration provider as permitted by the bellwether process set forth below.
Once all Notices of Dispute have been provided to us for Coordinated Cases, counsel for claimants and counsel for us shall confer in good faith regarding the number of cases that should proceed as bellwethers, to allow each side to test the merits of its arguments, before the remainder of claims may be filed with the arbitration provider. Any number chosen must be an even number so as to allow each side to designate its half of the cases selected for bellwether trials. If counsel for claimants and for us do not agree on the number of bellwethers, the number shall be chosen by the arbitration provider as an administrative matter (or, in the arbitration provide's discretion, by a process arbitrator). Factors that the arbitration provider may consider in making this decision include the complexity of the dispute and differences in facts or applicable laws among various claims. Once the number of bellwethers is fixed, by agreement or by the arbitration provider, each side shall select half that number from among the claimants who have provided compliant Notices of Dispute, and only those chosen claims may be filed with the arbitration provider. You agree that if your case is among Coordinated Cases filed against us, resolution of your personal claim might be delayed by this bellwether process. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to delay the resolution of uncoordinated Disputes based on similar claims to Coordinated Cases filed against us.
A single arbitrator shall preside over each Coordinated Case chosen for a bellwether proceeding, and only one Coordinated Case may be assigned to each arbitrator as part of a bellwether process unless the parties agree otherwise.
Once all bellwether trials have concluded (or sooner if the counsel for the claimants in the Coordinate Cases and we agree), the parties must make a good-faith effort to resolve all remaining cases that were not chosen for a bellwether proceeding by engaging in a single mediation of all remaining cases. Each side shall pay half the applicable mediation fee. Counsel for claimants in the Coordinated Cases and for us must agree on a mediator within 30 days after the conclusion of the last bellwether trial. If counsel for claimants in the Coordinated Cases and for us cannot agree on a mediator within 30 days, the arbitration provider will appoint a mediator as an administrative matter. Counsel for the claimants in the Coordinated Cases and for us will cooperate for the purpose of ensuring that the mediation is scheduled as quickly as practicable after the mediator is appointed.
If the mediation does not yield a global resolution, then claimants in Coordinated Cases who provided compliant Notices of Dispute but whose claims were not resolved in bellwether proceedings shall no longer have the right to arbitrate their Dispute. Instead, outstanding claims from such cases may be filed only in the state courts in Minnesota or if federal jurisdiction exists, in the District of Minnesota, and you consent as part of these Terms to venue such cases exclusively in these courts. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as prohibiting either you or us from removing a case from state to federal court if removal is allowed under applicable law. To the extent you are asserting the same claims as other persons and are represented by common or coordinated counsel, you agree to waive any objection that the joinder of all such persons is impracticable. If a formerly arbitrable Dispute is brought in court, claimants may seek class treatment, but to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, the classes sought may comprise only the claimants in the Coordinated Cases who provided compliant Notices of Dispute, and we reserve the right to contest class certification at any stage of the litigation and on any available basis.
A court shall have authority to enforce this bellwether process and may enjoin the filing of lawsuits or arbitration demands not made in compliance with it.
You have the right to opt out of this Arbitration provision, but you may only do so in the first 30 days after the first transaction is posted to your Account. In order to opt out, you must write us at WebBank/Fingerhut Arbitration, P.O. Box 0260, St Cloud, MN 56395-0260. You must inform us of your decision to opt out, and sign the notice.
This Arbitration provision shall survive repayment of your extension of credit and termination of your Account. This Arbitration provision is made in connection with interstate commerce, and shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 USC Sections 1 through 16. If any part of this Arbitration provision is determined to be void or unenforceable, then this entire Arbitration provision shall be considered null and void; however, it shall not affect the validity of the rest of this Agreement.
Updated Financial and other Information: Upon request, you agree to promptly give us accurate financial and other information about yourself.
Credit Bureau Dispute: If you believe we inaccurately reported credit history information about you or your credit agreement to a credit reporting agency, write to us at: Credit Bureau Reporting Services, 6250 Ridgewood Road, Saint Cloud MN 56303. Please provide the account or loan number along with a copy of your credit bureau report reflecting the information that you believe is inaccurate.
Consent for Use of Telephone Numbers: You authorize WebBank/Fingerhut, their affiliates, agents, and others calling at their request or on their behalf to contact you at any number (i) you have provided to us (ii) from which you have called us, or (iii) which we obtain and believe we can reach you at. We may contact you in any way, such as calling, texting, using an automated dialer or using pre-recorded messages. We may contact you on a mobile, wireless, or similar device, even if you are charged for it by your provider.
All Accounts, including California and Utah Residents: As required by applicable law, you are hereby notified that a negative credit report reflecting on your credit record may be submitted to a credit reporting agency if you fail to fulfill the terms of your credit obligations.
All Accounts, including New York/Rhode Island/Vermont Residents: You agree to give WebBank (1-801-456-8350) (as well as its agents, successors, and assigns) permission to access your credit report in connection with any transaction, or extension of credit, and on an ongoing basis, for the purpose of reviewing your Account, adjusting the credit limit on your Account, taking collection action on your Account, or for any other legitimate purposes associated with your Account. Alimony, child support or separate maintenance payments need not be revealed if you do not want us to consider it in determining your creditworthiness. Upon your request, you will be informed of whether or not a consumer credit report was ordered, and if it was, you will be given the name and address of the consumer reporting agency that furnished the report.
Connecticut Residents: Damages may be imposed if a check is dishonored. Connecticut General Statutes §52-565a authorizes our collection of damages for dishonored checks; criminal penalties may also apply.
Maryland Residents: Maryland law requires that if you send us a written request about the status of your Account and we do not answer that request within 60 days after we receive it, you are not required to pay a finance charge for that 60 day period or until we answer.
Missouri Residents: If you prepay your Account in full, you may be entitled to a refund of certain interest under Mo. Rev. Stat. §408.170.
New Hampshire Residents: Reasonable attorney's fees will be awarded to you if you prevail in (a) any action, suit or proceeding brought by us, or (b) any action brought by you. If you successfully assert a partial defense or set-off, recoupment or counterclaim to an action brought by us, the court may withhold from us the entire amount or such portion of the attorney fees as the court considers equitable.
Nevada: The WebBank/Fingerhut FreshStart closed-end installment loan is not offered to residents of Nevada.
New York Residents: New York residents may contact the New York state department of financial services by telephone or visit its website for free information on comparative credit card rates, fees and grace periods. The New York state department of financial services' telephone number is 1-800-342-3736, and its website is http://www.dfs.ny.gov.
Ohio Residents: The Ohio laws against discrimination require that all creditors make credit equally available to all creditworthy customers, and that credit reporting agencies maintain separate credit histories on each individual upon request. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission administers compliance with this law.
Married Wisconsin Residents: No provision of any marital property agreement, any unilateral statement, or court decree under Wisconsin's Marital Property Act adversely affects the interest of a creditor unless, prior to the time credit is granted, the creditor is furnished a copy of that agreement, statement or decree or has actual knowledge of the adverse provision when the obligation to the creditor is incurred. We may require that you pay the entire amount that you have outstanding if you do not pay amounts that come due 2 times within 12 month period. You will also have to pay your entire amount outstanding if you fail to do anything required in this agreement and that failure makes it likely that you will not be able to pay your bills from us as they become due.
Texas Residents: To contact us about your Account call 1-800-964-1975. This contract is subject in whole or in part to Texas law which is enforced by the Consumer Credit Commissioner, 2601 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78705-4207. Phone (800) 538-1579; www.occc.texas.gov. Contact the Commissioner relative to any inquires or complaints.
