Credit Card Payment Protection Scam

Many consumers are unknowingly the victims of a common credit card company scam that uses deceitful selling techniques to sign-up cardholders on payment protection plans.  These credit card companies boost their bottom line at the expense of the unemployed, the disabled, and the elderly - all examples of those unable to claim benefits under the terms of the plan yet are sold the plans anyway.

Background:

Payment protection insurance is offered to cardholders as an add-on card feature by credit card companies and banks, including Bank of America, Barclays Bank, Capital One, Citibank, Discover, GE Money Bank, HSBC, Wells Fargo, WFNA and many others.  This service goes by a variety of other names, payment protector plans, personal account protection and payment protection programs.  The basic concept is that if a cardholder experiences an unexpected event, such as loss of job, the credit card company will defer the cardholders’ required minimum monthly payments for a specific period of time.  Some plans also include a balance forgiveness provision should the cardholder pass away.  This protection is charged to the cardholder as a monthly fee. 

Common deceptive sales practices used by credit card companies to sign-up customers to payment protection plans include:

• Not informing the cardholder of the required monthly fee to enroll in these protection plans just to make the sale
• Unknowingly enrolling cardholders in the protection plans without their consent
• Enrolling cardholders that do not qualify for the benefits, such as senior citizens, retired, unemployed and seasonal workers, and the disabled – all are unable to claim benefits under the terms of the plan
• Once a cardholder is enrolled, they deny the “life changing event” as an event worthy to be covered by the protection
• Failure to fully provide protection benefits to qualified cardholders

If you or anyone you know has been the victim of a deceptive credit card protection plan, it may be important to contact an attorney who can help you protect your potential legal claim. If you would like more information, or would just like to talk with a lawyer experienced in this litigation, please call us at 800-755-0098 for a free consultation or click here to fill out an online free case review. Zimmerman Reed is experienced in handling consumer protection cases and we welcome any questions you may have.