Citibank, New York City, last week paid $1.6 million and agreed to change its telemarketing practices in a settlement with 27 states.
Consumers had complained that Citibank shared account information with telemarketing partners, some of whom charged accounts at the end of a free product trial if consumers did not specifically cancel. (The Federal Trade Commission is trying to ban such use of pre-acquired information.) Consumers said they didn’t know Citibank was sharing their information.
The settlement states that Citibank will get clear approval from cardholders before making any charges, and will review and approve the marketing materials of its partners. The $1.6 million covers state legal costs.
