It was a little over two years ago that the State of Hawaii filed suit against a slew of credit card companies, alleging that they were “slamming” customers–signing them up for products they didn’t ask for or ultimately didn’t receive. Well, four of those companies–Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Discover Financial Services and Citibank–have settled with the state for a total of “approximately $11.3 million,” according to a news release from the Hawaii Attorney General’s office sent out on Aug. 4.
“We filed these cases to protect Hawaii consumers and stop illegal and deceptive practices of marketing credit card protection plans,” said Attorney General Louie in the news release. “With the resolution of these cases we have taken a strong stance against unfair and deceptive credit card practices. These cases are important because they put the credit card industry on notice that it will be held accountable if it engages in misleading practices.”
According to the news release, these “illegal and deceptive practices” include “enrolling consumers without their consent; providing misleading information about free trial periods; distorting plan benefits; billing for services not provided; unfairly charging credit card customers for interest and fees; or denying plan benefits to eligible customers.”
Photo: Sprinno/Wikimedia Commons
Comments
comments