Personal Finance News
Credit One Pays $10.2 Million to Settle California Civil Lawsuit
Credit One Bank has reached a settlement agreement with California District Attorneys regarding debt collection calls.
About the Credit One-California Settlement:
District Attorneys for Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and Santa Clara counties in California have announced the resolution of a civil lawsuit filed against Las Vegas-based bank Credit One. This lawsuit accused Credit One and its vendors or making unlawful debt collection calls to California customers, including “repeated, intrusive and harassing” calls.
Diving into the lawsuit, the complaint alleged that Credit One held a policy that directed vendors to call customers up to 10 times per day (eight calls per day plsy two additional calls if certain overdue balance circumstances applied). This volume of calls was also said to be placed on consecutive days. The suit states that a federal jury previously found Credit One liable for violating the Rosenthal Act in 2019, but alleged that such practices continued nonetheless.
A judgment made by Judge Harold Hopp in Riverside County ruled that Credit One will be ordered to pay a total of $10.2 million to settle this suit. This amount includes $9 million in civil penalties as well as $1.2 million that will cover the costs of the investigation into the bank.
Credit One did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of this settlement. Moreover, the bank notes that California District Attorneys previously reached settlements with at least three other companies facing similar allegations, with those companies also not admitting to wrongdoing.
What They’re Saying:
Announcing this settlement, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said, “Credit card companies do not have the right to badger consumers and invade their privacy with non-stop phone calls to collect debt. We are sending a strong message today that companies will not get away with harassing consumers in our state.”
In its own press release about the settlement, Credit One stated, “Credit One Bank has always complied with the requirements of California’s law as it relates to collection practices and honors all cardmembers’ requests to not be called. Credit One Bank is committed to providing its cardmembers with affordable credit and a high level of customer service.”
My Thoughts:
I can only imagine getting up to 10 calls a day from a debt collector and how annoying that would be. On top of that, I’m curious how such a strategy would even be effective, as I reckon most people who are behind on their payments simply don’t have the money. Therefore, I can see why California DAs might want to take action against Credit One if this truly was what was happening.
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