It's bad enough getting a telemarketing call from your credit card company
just as you sit down to a nice, hot, steak dinner. However what really drives
you nuts is being charged for products and services offered by the
telemarketers, that you did not knowingly agree to purchase. This week
Citibank
signed an agreement with the attorneys general in 27 states to protect its
customers from alleged unfair and deceptive practices by telemarketing firms
that solicited business using Citibank's customer lists and encrypted credit
card numbers. The agreement settles a multi-state, two-year investigation led
by Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and attorneys general in New York,
California and Vermont. Under the agreement, Citibank admitted no wrongdoing
but agreed to pay $1.6 million to the states. Since the mid-1990s, Citibank
customers complained that deceptive pitches by the bank's partners resulted in
consumers being charged for unwanted products and services. In some cases,
telemarketers promoted free trial offers on dental plans or credit card loss
protection service. When the trial period ended, consumers did not understand
that the companies would charge their credit card for continued use unless the
consumers canceled during the trial period. Such telemarketing tactics are
widespread among credit card issuers. The best advice is to tell telemarketers
"NO" and ask them which part of "NO" they do not understand.
It's bad enough getting a telemarketing call from your credit card company
just as you sit down to a nice, hot, steak dinner. However what really drives
you nuts is being charged for products and services offered by the
telemarketers, that you did not knowingly agree to purchase. This week
Citibank
signed an agreement with the attorneys general in 27 states to protect its
customers from alleged unfair and deceptive practices by telemarketing firms
that solicited business using Citibank's customer lists and encrypted credit
card numbers. The agreement settles a multi-state, two-year investigation led
by Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and attorneys general in New York,
California and Vermont. Under the agreement, Citibank admitted no wrongdoing
but agreed to pay $1.6 million to the states. Since the mid-1990s, Citibank
customers complained that deceptive pitches by the bank's partners resulted in
consumers being charged for unwanted products and services. In some cases,
telemarketers promoted free trial offers on dental plans or credit card loss
protection service. When the trial period ended, consumers did not understand
that the companies would charge their credit card for continued use unless the
consumers canceled during the trial period. Such telemarketing tactics are
widespread among credit card issuers. The best advice is to tell telemarketers
"NO" and ask them which part of "NO" they do not understand.