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December 17, 2014
CFPB sues Sprint, 'sham' credit card firm
CFPB filed lawsuits against Sprint Corporation and a Texas-based company Wednesday, accusing the former of "cramming" consumers by billing for unauthorized third-party charges and the latter of promoting a "sham" credit card.
CFPB said Sprint has allowed tens of millions of dollars in unauthorized third-party charges to be illegally billed to consumers, many of whom did not know this practice was possible. The bureau said Sprint outsourced its payment processing to "billing aggregators" who added, or "crammed," illegitimate charges onto wireless bills – adding amounts ranging from $0.99 to monthly charges of $9.99.
CFPB's suit against Union Workers Credit Services in Texas alleges the company falsely advertised a general-use credit card that could actually only purchase products from that company. The company also implied affiliation with unions, in part by advertising with pictures of nurses and firefighters, that did not exist.
CFPB filed both suits through its Dodd-Frank Act authority to take action against companies engaging in "unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices."
CFPB said Sprint has allowed tens of millions of dollars in unauthorized third-party charges to be illegally billed to consumers, many of whom did not know this practice was possible. The bureau said Sprint outsourced its payment processing to "billing aggregators" who added, or "crammed," illegitimate charges onto wireless bills – adding amounts ranging from $0.99 to monthly charges of $9.99.
CFPB's suit against Union Workers Credit Services in Texas alleges the company falsely advertised a general-use credit card that could actually only purchase products from that company. The company also implied affiliation with unions, in part by advertising with pictures of nurses and firefighters, that did not exist.
CFPB filed both suits through its Dodd-Frank Act authority to take action against companies engaging in "unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices."
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