This week, JP Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, and 47 states to settle probes into its credit card debt collection practices. The consent order filed July 8 calls for Chase to pay $30 million to the CFPB, $106 million to the states and the District of Columbia, $30 million to the OCC and $50 million in restitution to impacted customers. The allegations against Chase related to its consumer debt sales practices, including alleged “robo-signing” of court documents and allegations that Chase sold debts that were settled, discharged in bankruptcy, inaccurate, or otherwise not collectible, to third-party debt buyers.
In addition to the monetary payouts, the settlement requires Chase to stop its collection efforts on 528,000 accounts and to implement new procedures to ensure the accuracy of information it maintains on customers. It also requires Chase to prohibit companies to which it sells debts from reselling that debt to other purchasers. This week’s settlement does not affect suits against Chase by California and Mississippi, which remain pending.
This week’s settlement follows a $389 million settlement with the CFPB and Treasury Department in 2013 over alleged improper charges for credit card-related services such as identity protection and credit monitoring.