First Premier Bank to Settle Complaint By Refunding $4.5 Million to New York Cardholders
By Justin McHenry
First Premier Bank, which offers credit cards to consumers with bad credit histories, will refund $4.5 million to current and former New York cardholders to settle complaints about its fees and business practices.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the complaints came from consumers who responded to the cards’ marketing that touted $2000 credit lines and no processing fees but delivered cards with much lower credit limits and immediate fees that ate up most of the credit line.
First Premier Bank has had predatory lending criticisms leveled against it in the past, but the company maintains it is providing a service to customers with past credit problems, and that its fees cover its risk of doing business with these cardholders as well as being the price these cardholders must pay to get credit after having done a poor job with it in the past.
Cuomo’s office said the settlement will be spread among thousands of New Yorkers who’ve done business with First Premier in the past.