Capital One Gets a CFPB Smackdown
I’ve talked about the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) in the past. In short, this is a new(ish) federal agency that is supposed to act as a watchdog for consumer financial products.
Well… Earlier this week they delivered a financial smack down to Capital One for deceptive marketing practices related to the sale of various credit-related products. They’re being forced to refund close to $150M to consumers, pay a $25M fine to the CFPB, and pay an additional $35M to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Among other things, customer service reps reportedly sold “payment protection” plans (which cover your payment if you become sick or unemployed) to people who were already sick or unemployed, such that they’d never be able to collect on their claims. They were also cited for violations related to credit monitoring and ID theft services.
All in all, I’m happy to see the CFPB starting to take action against corporations that engage in sketchy practices. That being said, there are a huge number of financial services companies out here. Will the CFPB be able to keep them in line? Only time will tell.
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Filed under: Banking, Credit Cards
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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July 20th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
This is a great first step but there are much worse business practices going on out there… hopefully they get the worst offenders!
July 22nd, 2012 at 5:20 pm
When is the CFPB going to go after the banks that still re-order transactions?
Looking at my BOA checking account online, it is clear they are still re-ordering transactions from highest to lowest, not chronologically.
July 22nd, 2012 at 8:28 pm
BG: File a complaint. You can do it right from the CFPB website.
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Capital One charges me $55.00(approx)each year for services and maintenances I dont use. I have tried to cancel this service, but the rep. tells me I cant. Why?