Charging up front for debt-relief services without any actual results for the customer is illegal. But despite that, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a payment processing company processed millions of dollars worth of illegal fees from consumers.

As a result, the CFPB says in its complaint today that it wants a federal district court to give the okay to force Global Client Solutions to stop processing those fees, and pay $6 million to consumers, along with a $1 million civil penalty.

The CFPB accuses Global Client Solutions of helping debt-settlement companies collect fees from consumers, before actually settling their debs with creditors. In some cases, the CFPB says, consumers paid hundreds and even thousands of illegal fees for services that didn’t ultimately pay off, or even worse, made things worse for them.

“Global Client Solutions made it possible for debt-settlement companies across the country to charge consumers illegal fees,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Consumers struggling to pay off a debt are among the most at risk and deserve better. We will continue to crack down on illegal debt-settlement firms and the companies that help these operations collect illegal fees from consumers.”

If the consent order goes into effect, Global Client Solutions would be banned from helping other companies collect such fees, and would be subject to monitoring by the CFPB, as well as submitting status reports on its compliance.

The defendants would also pay over $6 million in consumer relief in addition to paying a civil money penalty of $1 million.

CFPB Takes Action Against Global Client Solutions for Processing Illegal Debt-Settlement Fees [CFPB.gov]

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