New Lawsuits Expected In Credit Card Arena

In the wake of government actions against credit card issuers, class action lawsuits on behalf of consumers are expected to follow.

Lawyers are jumping in as the Justice Department continues its lawsuit against VISA and MasterCard in U.S. District Court here. Already, Citigroup has paid $45 million to settle a class action suit that had accused its card unit of improperly assessing finance charges by crediting payments of some customers on the day payments were made and then, due to handling, deeming those payments as being late and, then charging those accounts a late fee.

Providian has paid $300 million to settle a similar suit, and other lawsuits have been filed against card issuers Credit Card Bank NA and First USA.

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