LANSING, Mich. – Michigan consumers who had home loans with Household or Beneficial Finance were allowed to claim settlement payments starting the week of Aug. 4. According to the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services, about 19,000 Michigan consumers are eligible to share in the state's $15.7 million settlement with Household International. The payment program stems from the landmark settlement between Household/Beneficial International, one of the largest subprime mortgage lenders in the U.S. and the OFIS and the Attorneys General of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The settlement resolved an investigation by the states into allegations of unfair and deceptive mortgage lending practices by Household/Beneficial. Under the settlement distribution plan, all Household/Beneficial borrowers who obtained a mortgage loan directly from Household/Beneficial from January 1999 – September 2002 are eligible to claim a settlement payment. Household/Beneficial agreed to pay $484 million to the states. It was the largest settlement ever obtained in a consumer protection case.