Thousands of Georgians eligible for restitution, debt relief in $694 million auto loan settlement

Thousands of Georgians are eligible for restitution and debt relief as part of a multi-state settlement against one of the country's largest auto finance companies.

The Georgia Attorney General's Office announced that it is one of 41 states that entered into a $694 million settlement agreement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC).

As part of the settlement, the company agreed to pay more than $28.19 million in relief for over 4,800 Georgians as well as a payment of more than $373,000 to the state.

According to Attorney General Chris Carr, CAC allegedly made car loans that it knew its borrowers could not pay back. The company was also accused of deceiving customers into buying add-on products to get financing for their purchase.

"The settlement also includes injunctive terms that, among other provisions, require CAC to provide consumers with disclosures about loan risks, give consumers protections from bad outcomes from certain risky CAC loans, and help guard consumers from dealers 'packing' CAC auto-loan contracts with unwanted Vehicle Service Contracts (VSC) and Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) products," the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

The settlement will take effect on Nov. 2.

Any customers eligible for debt relief will be notified by CAC. Customers eligible for restitution will be notified by the claims administrator.