JPMorgan Chase To Refund Millions In Credit Card Fees

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s credit cardissuing bank subsidiary, has agreed to stop charging a $10 per month service charge that it added to over 184,000 of its credit card accounts, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced.

In addition, Chase has refunded or will refund approximately $4,400,000 to those consumers it had charged under a unilateral change in terms imposed in January.

Consumers beyond the U.S. backpack over 100 actor Chase acclaim cards. For a cardinal of years, Chase has offered some of its cardholders actual adorable promotional ante for antithesis transfers or added accommodation amounts put assimilate their Chase acclaim agenda accounts. The offers fabricated bright that a ancient transaction fee, usually 3 percent, would be answerable for this actual low promotional rate.

Despite the promises Chase fabricated in its offer, according to the AG, in November 2008 Chase notified over 300,000 consumers nationwide, that the acceding of the above-mentioned action had been changed. Chase told its cardholders that, in January 2009, it would alpha charging an added collapsed fee—a $10 account charge—each month. This added $120 per year in added fees decidedly aloft the able APR on these balances, in some cases added than acceleration the able absorption rate.

Attorney General Cuomo said: "My appointment will not sit aback and acquiesce banks to swear one affair in its solicitations and agreements with consumers, and again back times get tough, change the deal, abrogation consumers captivation the bag. Truth-inlending laws prohibit this actual conduct. I am animated that Chase has now reconsidered its ill-advised, actionable decision, and will now alive up to the acceding it originally offered and agreed to."

In January of this year, based aloft customer complaints, the Attorney General's appointment contacted Chase and requested a affair with assembly to abode the office's concerns. Aloft affair with Chase, the appointment accepted that Chase abolish the $10 account account accuse and acquittance all those that it had collected. On March 26, Chase agreed to accede with the Attorney Generals' demand.

Under the agreement, Chase will be sending out belletrist to consumers nationwide, including bags of New York consumers, cogent them that as of Apr. 1, Chase will no best be charging them the $10 account account charge. In addition, Chase has refunded or will acquittance the account accuse that Chase has been charging consumers for the aftermost several months in absolute bulk of about $4,400,000. These consumers will apprehend accumulation over the abutting 12 months of about $22,000,000.

The analysis and acceding were handled by Special Counsel Carolyn Fast and Assistant Attorney General Melvin Goldberg with and beneath the administration of Bureau Chief Joy Feigenbaum of the Bureau of Customer Frauds and Protection.