Citibank Must Pay $700M for Illegal Credit Card Practices
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Mario Tama/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday that Citibank must pay an estimated $700 million to reimburse eligible consumers affected by illegal credit card practices carried out by the bank.
Millions of consumers fell victim to what regulators called deception by Citibank.
From 2003 to 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Citibank enrolled customers in so-called add-on products for credit monitoring or account protection. Telemarketers would pitch these services but misrepresent cost, the benefits and the eligibility requirements.
This kind of deception is not uncommon, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“We continue to uncover illegal credit card add-on practices that are costing unknowing consumers millions of dollars,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “In our four years, this is the tenth action we’ve taken against companies in this space for deceiving consumers. We will remain on the lookout for similar conduct and will address it as we find it.”
Citibank said it cooperated fully and “has taken extensive steps to address each issue.”
Citi stopped selling the credit monitoring and debt protection products in question and said affected customers would receive a statement credit or check.
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