R.I. to receive $239,955 through Chase Bank settlement

CHASE BANK NA and Chase Bankcard Services Inc. will pay Rhode Island $239,955 and also pay an additional $13,000 in restitution to 20 Rhode Island consumers as part of a $136 million state and federal credit card debt collection settlement, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said.  / COURTESY R.I. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
CHASE BANK NA and Chase Bankcard Services Inc. will pay Rhode Island $239,955 and also pay an additional $13,000 in restitution to 20 Rhode Island consumers as part of a $136 million state and federal credit card debt collection settlement, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said. / COURTESY R.I. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE

PROVIDENCE – Chase Bank NA and Chase Bankcard Services Inc. will pay Rhode Island $239,955 and an additional $13,000 in restitution to 20 Rhode Island consumers as part of a $136 million state and federal credit card debt collection settlement.
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin on Wednesday announced the settlement, which halts debt collection on 806 Rhode Islanders and 528,000 consumers nationwide for what the attorney general calls unlawful credit card debt collection practices.
“Chase’s consumer credit card debt collection practices harmed consumers here in Rhode Island and across the country,” Kilmartin said in a statement. “In many cases, Chase stacked the deck against consumers by pursuing or unleashing collection cases based on information that was just plain wrong or even false.”
The settlement comprises an agreement between the credit entities and 47 states, including Rhode Island, plus the District of Columbia and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a press release. The suit came about through an investigation into Chase’s past debt collection practices, where investigators found instances of Chase inaccurately listing debt to people, according to the release. In several instances, Kilmartin says, the debt had already been discharged, time barred, tied to the wrong person.
“It’s an affront to consumers, courts, our laws and fairness,” Kilmartin continued.
As a part of the agreement, Chase must reform its collection practices in areas of “declaration, collection litigation, debt sales and debt buying,” according to the release. The settlement also puts restrictions on Chase’s ability to resell the debt, which Kilmartin says is a practice that could result in long-term harm to consumers if the credit is resold several times.
In 2012, Chase reported about 64.5 million open accounts comprising $124 billion in outstanding credit card debt.
“While Chase is certainly entitled to collect lawfully on unpaid debts, our laws forbid anyone from using false or incorrect amounts or robo-signing documents,” Kilmartin said.
Chase is slated to pay $95 million to the 47 participating states, an additional $11 million to the executive committee states that conducted the investigation and $30 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to the release.

No posts to display

1 COMMENT