REFUNDS SENT TO CREDIT CARD ROBOCALL VICTIMS

FROM:  FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
FTC Sends Refunds to Victims of Robocallers Who Pitched Lower Credit Card Interest Rates, But Failed to Deliver
Checks Being Mailed This Week to Defrauded Consumers

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing refund checks to consumers in America and Canada who were victimized by a fraudulent telemarketing operation that used pre-recorded calls, or robocalls, to pitch phony credit card interest rate reduction programs.

The refunds stem from a 2010 settlement with the operators of a robocall telemarketing scheme known as JPM Accelerated Services (JPM).  The FTC’s complaint against JPM alleged that the company’s telemarketers charged an up-front fee typically ranging from $495 to $995, and promised consumers they would save thousands of dollars in a short period of time as a result of the lower interest rates, and that they would be able to pay off their debts faster.  The defendants also falsely stated that if consumers did not save thousands of dollars from lowered interest rates, they would receive a full refund of the up-front fee.

After collecting the fee from consumers, however, JPM allegedly failed to deliver the promised interest rate reductions and savings, and routinely refused to honor its money-back guarantee.  The FTC complaint also charged the defendants with violating the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule by calling consumers on the Do Not Call Registry, blocking or “spoofing” caller ID, and making unlawful robocalls.

Consumer victims of JPM whom the FTC was able to identify will receive checks returning part of the money they lost.  The checks will be mailed by BMC Group, a refund administrator working for the FTC.  Consumers should cash the checks upon receipt.  The redress checks are valid for 60 days from the date they are issued, after which they become void.

FTC STOPS ALLEGED FRAUDULENT CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATE REDUCTION SCHEME

FROM:  FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Operators of Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scheme Barred from Telemarketing, Will Turn Over Funds Frozen by Court

The Arizona-based defendants behind an alleged fraudulent credit card interest rate reduction scam will be permanently barred from the telemarketing business, and must turn over all of their remaining funds, in order to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.

As part of the FTC settlement, the defendants behind National Card Monitor LLC are banned from all telemarketing, and from marketing or selling “credit related products or services.”  The settlement order also bars the defendants from making any misrepresentations in the marketing or sale of financial products, including debt relief services.

According to the FTC, starting in early 2011, National Card Monitor cold-called consumers nationwide and falsely claimed it could get one or more low-rate credit cards for consumers, onto which they could then transfer their current balances.  During the call, National’s telemarketers requested an advance fee of between $499 and $599 from consumers, assuring them that they would get a full refund if they did not get a new card.

The FTC contends National Card Monitor was not registered with the National Do Not Call Registry, never paid to access the Registry, and typically called consumers whose numbers were on the Registry.

In addition to the telemarketing ban, the order bars the defendants from misrepresenting any material fact about any product or service, and imposes a judgment of $2,329,409, which represents the amount of consumer harm they caused.  The judgment will be suspended upon the payment of all frozen funds remaining after payment of final receivership expenses.  The full judgment will come due if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial situation.

The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 4-0.  It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona where the complaint naming National Card Monitor LLC, also doing business as Nationwide Card Monitor, and James Eric Cox was filed.  The judge signed the order on July 15, 2013.

The FTC would like to thank the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Mesa, Arizona, Police Department; the Arizona Attorney General’s Office; and the Better Business Bureaus of Central, Northern, and Western Arizona for their help in bringing this case.