Published
July 4, 2026
If you were notified that your information was involved in the January 2025 American Consumer Credit Counseling data incident, you can claim a $45 cash payment or up to $3,500 for documented losses, plus three years of free credit monitoring.
What Is This Settlement About?
American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc. ("ACCC") is a nonprofit credit counseling and debt management organization headquartered in Massachusetts. According to the settlement notice, in January 2025 a criminal third party gained unauthorized access to certain ACCC employee email accounts. The personally identifiable information potentially impacted may have included names, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and payment card information.A class action lawsuit, Dinkel, et al., v. American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc., Case No. 2581CV02933, followed in the Superior Court of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, alleging ACCC failed to adequately safeguard the personal information in its systems. ACCC denies that it did anything wrong and denies all claims, allegations, and liability; the court has not decided who is right. The parties agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs, risks, disruptions, and uncertainties of continued litigation.
Eligible class members can now enroll in three years of credit monitoring and file for a cash payment. The claim deadline is September 16, 2026, and the deadline to object is August 17, 2026. This page explains who qualifies, what you can get, and how to file.
Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
September 16, 2026
Estimated Payout
$45 or up to $3,500
$45 alternative cash (no documentation) or up to $3,500 documented losses plus up to $80 lost time · plus 3 years of free credit monitoring
Proof Required
Yes
Login ID and PIN from the notice are required to file online · receipts required for the up-to-$3,500 losses option
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is all individuals residing in the United States whose personally identifiable information was potentially compromised in the January 2025 ACCC data incident, including everyone who received a notice of the incident. ACCC's records identify who is in the class, and class members may have received an earlier notice directly from ACCC.Excluded from the class are ACCC itself; its affiliates, parents, and subsidiaries; any entity in which ACCC has a controlling interest; its officers, directors, and successors; any judge who adjudicates the case, along with their staff and immediate family; and anyone found by a court to have criminally caused or aided the data incident.
How Much Can You Get?
All class members can enroll in three years of CyEx Financial Shield Complete credit monitoring from one bureau. The service comes with $1 million of financial fraud insurance and includes monitoring for fraud or identity theft, unauthorized financial transactions, and high-risk financial transactions, with access to a fraud resolution agent if anything suspicious turns up.Class members can also claim payments from one of two cash categories:
Category 1 (Documented Out-of-Pocket Losses and Lost Time) — reimbursement of up to $3,500 for actual, documented, unreimbursed out-of-pocket losses traceable to the data incident and incurred between January 27, 2025, and September 16, 2026. Covered expenses can include unreimbursed losses from identity theft or fraud, fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or freezing and unfreezing your credit, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks by mail. You must submit documented proof such as bank statements or receipts — notes or papers you made yourself can support other proof, but alone they are not enough. Category 1 claimants may also claim Compensation for Lost Time of $20 per hour for up to 4 hours (a maximum of $80) for time spent responding to the incident — for example changing passwords, investigating suspicious account activity, or researching the breach — with a brief description of how the time was spent, attested on the claim form.
Category 2 (Alternative Cash Payment) — a one-time $45 cash payment instead of the Category 1 benefits. No proof or explanation is required to claim this payment. You can claim from only one of the two categories, not both. Cash payments can be delivered by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or a mailed physical check.
What Data Was Exposed?
According to the settlement notice, the information potentially impacted in the January 2025 incident may have included:- Name
- Social Security number
- Driver's license number
- Financial account number
- Payment card information
Not every affected individual necessarily had all of these categories exposed. The incident involved unauthorized access to certain ACCC employee email accounts rather than a breach of every company system.
How to File a Claim
The deadline to file is September 16, 2026. File online at the official settlement website, ACCC Settlement.com, which the notice describes as the fastest way to submit a claim. To start the online claim form you must log in with the Login ID and PIN printed on the notice that was sent to you. You can also download a printable Claim Form from the website and submit it, with any supporting documentation, by mail or email; mailed claims must be postmarked by September 16, 2026.On the Claim Form, choose to enroll in credit monitoring and select Category 1 (documented losses and/or lost-time compensation) or Category 2 (the $45 alternative payment) — you cannot claim both categories. If you cannot locate your Login ID and PIN, you can request them from the settlement administrator through the official settlement website by providing your full name and mailing address.
Key Deadlines
- File a claim: September 16, 2026 (online, emailed, or postmarked)
- Object to the settlement: August 17, 2026
- Final approval hearing: October 8, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, by video teleconference via Zoom
If you do nothing, you remain in the class and give up your right to sue ACCC over the data incident, but you will not receive any benefit unless you file a claim by the deadline. Settlement benefits are distributed after the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved.
Attorneys' Fees and Service Awards
The court has appointed Casondra Turner of Milberg, PLLC as class counsel. Class counsel will ask the court to approve $225,000 in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, and service awards of $4,000 for each of the class representatives (not to exceed $8,000 total), all paid by ACCC. Class members are not charged for class counsel's services.Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies for the ACCC data breach settlement?
You qualify if you are a U.S. resident whose personally identifiable information was potentially compromised in the January 2025 American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc. data incident, including anyone who received a notice of the incident from ACCC.
How much money can I get from the ACCC settlement?
You can choose one of two cash categories: up to $3,500 in reimbursement for documented out-of-pocket losses tied to the breach plus up to $80 in lost-time compensation ($20 per hour for up to 4 hours), or a one-time $45 alternative cash payment that requires no documentation. All class members can also enroll in three years of free CyEx Financial Shield Complete credit monitoring with $1 million of financial fraud insurance.
What is the deadline to file an ACCC data breach claim?
Claims must be submitted online, emailed, or postmarked by September 16, 2026. The deadline to object to the settlement is August 17, 2026, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for October 8, 2026.
Do I need proof to file an ACCC data breach claim?
To file online you need the Login ID and PIN printed on the notice you were sent, so the settlement is treated as proof-required. No documentation is needed for the $45 alternative cash payment itself, but the up-to-$3,500 out-of-pocket-losses option requires documented proof such as bank statements or receipts — personal notes alone are not enough.
What data was exposed in the ACCC data breach?
According to the settlement notice, information potentially impacted in the January 2025 incident may have included names, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and payment card information.
Watch Out for Scams
Legitimate settlement administrators do not charge a fee to release a class action payment, and they do not ask for banking passwords or a "processing payment" by text or phone. File only through the official settlement website linked on this page, and ignore unsolicited messages demanding money or sensitive credentials to "release" your check. To compare this case with others, see our roundup of open data breach settlements and our explainer on how a data breach class action works.Official Settlement Notice
Sources
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
Undisclosed
Estimated Payout
$45 cash or up to $3,500 documented
Case Title
Dinkel, et al., v. American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc.
Case Number
2581CV02933
Court
Superior Court of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Claim Deadline
September 16, 2026
Final Approval Hearing
October 8, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Held by video teleconference via Zoom
Administrator
Simpluris
Official Website
ACCC Settlement.com
