Bank Of America May Pay $800 Million For Questionable Credit Card Add-Ons

There’s another big legal bill on the horizon for Bank of America, as reports indicate the bank may soon agree to pay $800 million to settle allegations tied to sketchy add-on services for credit card customers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that BofA is working out a deal with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has has been going after credit card issuers for pushing customers into paying for questionable add-on services like identity-theft protection and programs that are supposed to help cardholders who lose their jobs.

Many such add-ons were good revenue generators for the banks, but often offered little to no protection for those stuck paying the fees. Since the CFPB began going after these programs — like last year’s $70 million settlement with American Express and the $389 million smackdown of JPMorgan Chase — a number of banks have stopped selling them.

CFPB has also made similar deals with Capital One and Discover over these upsold credit card add-ons, for $150 million and $200 million, respectively.

BofA stopped selling a number of its sketchier credit protection products in 2012, but the CFPB deal would presumably penalize the bank for the years leading up to the cancellation of the programs.

Like the previous settlements, much of the looming BofA money would take the form of refunds to affected cardholders.

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