Credit Cards

Americans Have More Debt Than Ever – and It Is Creating an Economic trap

Americans have more debt than ever — and it’s creating an economic trap BY: Pedro Nicolaci da Costa of Business Insider –Direct Link to Article October 22, 2017 An International Monetary Fund report finds that high levels of household debt deepen and prolong recessions. US household debt is at pre-Great Recession levels. Household debt jumped by over $500 billion in the second quarter to $12.84 trillion. A scary little...

Financial crisis bank fines hit record 10 years after market collapse

Since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007, financial institutions have paid more than Qatar’s GDP in fines for their wrongdoings. As investigations and lawsuits continue, that number is expected to grow, $150 billion (127.6 billion euros) – that’s how much US authorities have collected in fines from financial institutions for shady dealings with subprime mortgages since the beginning of the credit crisis in 2007, according to research by the British...

Wells Fargo Management Turned a Blind Eye to the Creation of Fake Accounts

With Sales Abuses Dating Back To 2002, Wells Fargo Board Claws Back $75 Million More From Executives Responsible Maggie McGrath In an attempt to atone for having created millions of bank and credit card accounts without customer permission or knowledge, Wells Fargo installed a new chief executive, reformed its sales incentives and clawed back more than $60 million in stock awards from the executives deemed responsible. And it’s not stopping there. On Monday, following the publication...

John Oliver Takes Aim At Credit Reports In ‘Last Week Tonight’

John Oliver Takes Aim At Credit Reports In ‘Last Week Tonight’ Lauren Gensler with Forbes Magazine recaps John Oliver’s roasting of Credit Reports and the companies responsible. On Sunday, John Oliver took aim at the credit industry on his show Last Week Tonight, lambasting the credit bureaus for allowing so many mistakes on credit reports. According to a 2013 FTC study, one in 20 people have a substantial error on their credit reports....

Citibank Stops Collecting Credit Card Debt

Citibank Will Stop Collecting $34 Million in Credit Card Debt By Jeanine Skowronski Published February 24, 2016 Certain credit card debtors are in for some relief. Citibank (NYSE:C) has agreed to provide nearly $16 million in consumer relief and forgo collecting on about $34 million in debt held by nearly 7,000 cardholders as part of two enforcement actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB consent orders, released...

GE CareCredit to Refund $34.1 Million

CFPB Orders GE CareCredit to Refund $34.1 Million for Deceptive Health-Care Credit Card Enrollment More than 1 Million Consumers Were Potential Victims of Misleading Practices WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering GE Capital Retail Bank and its subsidiary, CareCredit, to refund up to $34.1 million to potentially more than 1 million consumers who were victims of deceptive credit card enrollment tactics. At doctors’ and...

American Express to Pay $59.5 Million

CFPB Orders American Express to Pay $59.5 Million for Illegal Credit Card Practices Federal Regulators Fine American Express an Additional $16.2 Million WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today ordered American Express to refund an estimated $59.5 million to more than 335,000 consumers for illegal credit card practices. These practices included unfair billing tactics and deceptive marketing with respect to credit card “add-on products” such as...

GE Capital to Pay $225 Million

CFPB Orders GE Capital to Pay $225 Million in Consumer Relief for Deceptive and Discriminatory Credit Card Practices Nearly 750,000 Consumers Harmed by Illegal Credit Card Practices WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is ordering GE Capital Retail Bank (GE Capital), now known as Synchrony Bank, to provide an estimated $225 million in relief to consumers harmed by illegal and discriminatory credit card practices. GE Capital...

Discover to Pay $200 Million Consumer Refund for Deceptive Marketing

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Order Discover to Pay $200 Million Consumer Refund for Deceptive Marketing WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a joint public enforcement action with an order requiring Discover Bank to refund approximately $200 million to more than 3.5 million consumers and pay a $14 million civil money penalty. This...

Bank Of America To Pay $727 Million In Consumer Relief

CFPB Orders Bank Of America To Pay $727 Million In Consumer Relief For Illegal Credit Card Practices Millions of Consumers Harmed by Bank’s Deceptive Marketing and Unfair Credit Card Billing Practices WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Bank of America, N.A. and FIA Card Services, N.A. to provide an estimated $727 million in relief to consumers harmed by practices related to credit card add-on...