DEPARTMENT OF THE AT TORNEY GENERAL

News Release
NEIL ABERCROMBIE
GOVERNOR

DAVID M. LOUIE ………………RUSSELL A. SUZUKI
ATTORNEY GENERAL……….1st DEPUTY AG
Phone: (808) 586-1500

For Immediate Release: April 12, 2012 News Release 2012-10

STATE OF HAWAII FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST SEVEN MAJOR CREDIT CARD
COMPANIES

HONOLULU – Today the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii filed lawsuits in First
Circuit Court against seven major credit card companies, alleging that these companies
improperly charged their Hawaii customers for products not requested or for products
that did not provide the benefits claimed.

The suits are being brought by the State of Hawaii by Attorney General
David M. Louie, with the State of Hawaii being represented by local attorney Rick Fried
in association with two mainland firms, Golomb & Honik of Philadelphia, and Baron &
Budd of Dallas.

An example of an alleged improper charge is where a credit card company bills a
consumer for something called “payment protection” or something similar, which
supposedly pays the cardholder’s required minimum monthly payments in certain
circumstances. The consumer is not told of the numerous restrictions, and often the
consumer doesn’t qualify for the product in the first place. Solicitations for these
products are often telemarketing calls using predatory tactics to sign up customers for
services they either don’t want or don’t qualify for. The suits point out that, unlike other
telemarketers, these credit card companies already have their customers’ credit card
information and therefore are able to charge their customers for products without their
knowledge or consent.

The seven credit card companies that have been named as defendants are Bank
of America, Barclays, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, HSBC, and their subsidiaries.
The State has requested injunctive relief to stop the alleged illegal practices, full
restitution for all affected consumers, and penalties, which could subject the credit card
companies to up to $10,000 per violation. If awarded, restitution funds would go directly
to consumers and penalties would go to the state’s general fund.

Please call Rick Fried at (808) 524-1433, if you believe you have been a victim of
such conduct. When you call, please mention that your call relates to possible payment
protection fraud.

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For more information contact:
Joshua Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
(808) 586-1284
joshua.a.wisch@hawaii.gov
http://hawaii.gov/ag/

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