American Express to Refund $85 Million
Source: NYT
American Express will reimburse $85 million to about 250,000 customers to resolve accusations that the company violated federal law in its marketing, billing and debt collection practices, the company and the government said Monday.
The settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions that federal and state regulators have brought against some of the nations largest financial institutions for problems in their credit card businesses.
The multiagency investigation of American Express included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions. They discovered problems in three American Express subsidiaries between 2003 and 2012 that ranged from the way the company advertised its cards to how it pursued customers behind on their bills.
The violations of consumer protection laws started from the moment a consumer shopped for a card to the moment the consumer got a phone call about long overdue debt, Richard Cordray, the director of the consumer protection bureau, said in a statement.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/business/american-express-to-refund-85-million.html
winstars
(4,220 posts)Laurian
(2,593 posts)Kudos to Elizabeth Warren for her work to establish it.
antigop
(12,778 posts)OnyxCollie
(9,958 posts)when they should be doing jail time.
Mondays enforcement action was intended as a message to all entities, said Kent Markus, assistant director of enforcement for the consumer bureau. There are consequences for violating the law.
Yeah, the consequences are that the government takes a cut of the profits.
Laurian
(2,593 posts)I am hopeful that this new agency will be a ferocious watchdog and prompt change through massive financial penalties, criminal charges or new regulations. It's a start.....a good start.
OnyxCollie
(9,958 posts)it's simply the cost of doing business.
Laurian
(2,593 posts)I still think having the bureau is important and a step toward tighter regulation of companies ripping off hard working folks who are not savvy to all their crooked ways.