‘Abusive and Unfair’: Class Action Claims Credit One’s Express Payment Option Takes Advantage of Consumers

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action claims Credit One Bank, N.A. pushes credit card customers toward its express payment option without meaningfully disclosing that lower-cost payment methods are available to avoid late fees.

According to the nine-page complaint, Credit One has abusively taken advantage of consumers’ lack of understanding of the “material risks, costs, or conditions” of making an express payment, in particular given the online express payment option, which typically commands an additional fee, does not meaningfully involve a live representative. As a result, the suit says, consumers are not informed that other payment methods could be used to make timely payments and avoid late penalties.

“Credit One failed to inform consumers that it could have used other permitted payment methods to make timely payments and avoid late fees, which is deceptive and harmful to them,” the complaint reads.

Per the lawsuit, Credit One generates “a large portion” of its revenue through add-on fees. According to the complaint, Credit One account holders are often saddled with “punitive and onerous late fees” because the company prohibits more than four payments to be made per month and frequently fails to post payments to customers’ accounts within the required or expected time frame.

To purportedly help customers avoid late fees, Credit One provides the option to make express payments, which the company claims will be processed by a live representative, the suit says. When consumers choose this option, however, the only “live” interaction they receive is “similar to a chatbot” in that they’re asked to provide the last four digits of their Social Security number and consent to the express payment fee, according to the lawsuit.

As the case tells it, customers are harmed by the lack of any “meaningful or legitimate” interaction with a live representative during the express payment process because they’re not informed of lower-cost alternatives and are instead pushed toward materially higher-cost payment options. The lawsuit argues that Credit One’s express payment process takes advantage of consumers, who are unaware of how they may be able to avoid late fees without incurring extra costs.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in New York and Florida who made online express payments without the involvement of a live representative during the applicable statute of limitations periods.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s newsletter here.