JPMorgan Chase Bank Fined $136M for Illegal Debt Collection Practices

Selling bad debt, robo-signing large quantities of documents without first verifying account information, providing inaccurate information to third-party debt collectors, and filing misleading lawsuits are some of the reasons JPMorgan Chase is facing hefty fines from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. JPMorgan Chase has been ordered to pay $136 million in fines to the CFPB, 47 states, and District of Columbia. The company must also refund affected customers, which will cost at least $50 million. In addition to those fines, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency will receive $30 million from JPMorgan Chase.

JPMorgan’s shady collection processes are clearly costing them. In addition to the fines, the company must change the way it handles past due accounts. Hopefully JPMorgan Chase learns their lesson this time. They were involved in a similar debt collecting dilemma back in 2013.

“Chase sold bad credit card debt and robo-signed documents in violation of the law. Today we are ordering Chase to permanently halt collections on more than 528,000 accounts and overhaul its debt-sales practices. We will continue to be vigilant in taking action against deceptive debt sales and collections practices that exploit consumers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

While JPMorgan Chase definitely did not follow the proper procedure to collect past due debts, they are certainly not the only company guilty of this. If you or someone you know is facing a lawsuit from a credit card company or a company that buys credit card debt, do not hesitate to contact a debt collection lawsuit attorney right away. Time is of the essence in these types of cases. With the right attorney at your side, often the company will dismiss the lawsuit or significantly reduce the amount owed.

Read the original article here.