CFPB Orders First National Bank of Omaha to Pay $32.25 Million for Illegal Credit Card Practices
- Details
- Category: Hall of Shame
Deceptive Marketing and Illegal Billing of Add-On Products Harmed Hundreds of Thousands of Consumers
Source: www.consumerfinance.gov
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered First National Bank of Omaha to provide $27.75 million in relief to roughly 257,000 consumers harmed by illegal practices with credit card add-on products. The bank used deceptive marketing to lure consumers into debt cancellation add-on products and it charged consumers for credit monitoring services they did not receive. First National Bank of Omaha will also pay a $4.5 million civil money penalty to the CFPB.
Specifically, the bank:
- Disguised the fact that it was selling consumers a product
- Distracted consumers into making a purchase
- Failed to disclose consumers' ineligibility
- Hindered consumers from obtaining debt cancellation product benefits
- Made cancellation of debt cancellation products difficult
- Billed for credit monitoring services not provided
The CFPB's order requires that First National Bank of Omaha:
- Repay $27.75 million to affected consumers
- End unfair billing and other illegal practices
- Pay a $4.5 million penalty: