GE Money Bank Care Credit Class Action Suit (funds, pay, million)

[in_newengland]

GE Capital to refund $34 million to health care credit card customers - Dec. 10, 2013

This seems crazy to me. GE Money Bank (Care Credit) which is used mostly for medical payments, has to pay consumers the interest they accrued for not paying on time!

I first heard about Care Credit on this forum and got the card and have used it quite a few times. It's great. The dentist will give me a year or so to pay off something like a $1500 crown and I've never paid one cent of interest.

But apparently SOME people didn't read the agreement. If you do NOT pay the loan off in time you end up paying ALL the interest you have accrued. I read it right there in black and white. Maybe they need to write it in large red block letters 3" high?

So these deadbeats who didn't bother to read, get ALL THEIR INTEREST back? I've never been on the side of a credit card company before but this decision is bogus. Once again the "good" people who did the right thing and paid the bill get nothing while the deadbeats get their money back.

How is this decision fair to the rest of us who DID pay on time? Is this sort of crazy? Should these people get rewarded for not paying their bill? Why does this happen?

[berdee]

I have that card myself, though I rarely use it. When I had signed up for the card I was completely aware of the back dating of interest if the promo amount wasn't fully paid off within the time allowed ... and the same with the few other store cards I have in which I'd used for 0% promo purchases. I hadn't read the case, but I don't see how a judge could allow it when it was clearly spelled out in the credit card agreement - as seen in the quote below. With Care Credit, people can sign up for the card through the doctor that they are seeing and they may not get the card agreement at that time (and that may be what the suit was based on), but, the card agreement is mailed to them along with their card. I wonder if this may open the door to class actions against the issuers of other store cards which have similar card agreements for promo purchases.

For each promotion, if the promotional purchase is not paid in full within the promotional period, interest will be imposed from the date of purchase at the APR that applies to your account when the promotional purchase is made. At the time your account is opened, this is an APR of 26.99%.


When you make a qualifying purchase under one of these promotions, no interest will be charged on the purchase if you pay the promotional purchase in full within the applicable promotional period. If you do not, interest will be charged on the promotional purchase from the date of the purchase. A minimum purchase amount may be required for promotional offers longer than 6 months Regular account terms apply to non-promotional purchases and, after promotion ends, to promotional balance. Offers are subject to credit approval. These promotional offers may not be available at all providers or at all times for all purchases. Please see any special promotion advertising or other disclosures provided to you for the full terms of any special promotion offered.

[in_newengland]

Apparently some people were never told of the terms. They just signed up for the card in the doctor's office. Still, they must have gotten a bill with the terms on it. I always read the small print (that's where the important stuff is) and I mark certain bills as a priority. This one is a priority because it says right on it that you will pay the entire interest from Day One if you don't pay it off on time.

[bradykp]

from what i understand it has to do with the way the card was marketed in doctors' offices. there's seldom lawsuits like this without some legitimacy to it when there's actually a settlement. and if you google GE Care Credit, all you see is forums where people are complaining about them. There are countless store cards who do this, and they always clearly tell you that if you don't pay it off in full the backdated interest will hit.

don't be deceptive, and you won't have settlements like this.

[71stingray]

I believe this person who repeats that "dead beats" didn't pay their care credit bill and received the interest obviously has not read the class action suit - with comprehension.

The reason for the suit (since it must be spelled out for you) is care credit is used for medical expenses, and you must have a good credit rating to even get the card. There are people out there that didn't use or need just $1500. No, they needed more than that at intervals of treatment care. So, one bill was for $1500, the next-$1100, the next-$1200 and so on.

A person pays above the minimum - let's say $72 a month..so the customer pays $125 a month. Sound like a dead beat? no! However, this care credit applied that $125 over ALL of the charges, rather than the oldest first, and then tells the customer (when they are charged $700-$900 or more in interest, that the customer needed to CALL THEM and tell them how the money was to be allocated.

When calculated out - the customer DID indeed pay that first $1500 amount off and even more within that 18 months...care credit was paying off a little on all of charges, thus making it impossible to pay off that first charge.

Your accusation of "Dead Beat" people needs to be apologized for. The courts found the company committed fraud, and you have the disrespectful attitude to make that comment.

Thank you and congratulations to everyone who will receive their refunds... you definitely deserve it!

[Justification]

I was offered Care Credit financing in a dental office after having nearly died and then recovered from a dental abscess that had spread into my sinus cavity, bones, and brain while I was arranging 2 funerals in a four week time period that had drained all of my financial resources. The dentist said she could pull the teeth, (which had plagued me for years, but I could not afford to fix, due to the medical expenses of a disabled spouse), but would not unless I agreed to put a spacer there, as pulling the teeth would cause all of the other good teeth to move, become misaligned, and come out in a very short time. This was going to cost me over $2000 upfront. I explained that I unfortunately could not afford that and started to leave, but she said that I could get the money interest free with small payments for a year, with retroactive interest. I knew what that meant, and explained that having already committed to paying two funerals off I could not pay off $2000 in twelve months. The assistant then said that they had a 13% interest plan that had unlimited time to pay, the interest rate would not go up as long as I met the minimum payments, and qualified. She had a brochure with those exact terms expressed but I had to borrow at least $3000 in one go, so they added some more work I needed done also to get up to the proper amount. All of this, same day sitting in the dental chair, after having almost died because of this need. Even with the brochure in hand, I wanted a guarantee from the company that they would not raise the rate later on, so the assistant brought the phone to the exam room and I spoke to the rep who promised me with the higher 13% plan, they would not raise the rate for any reason until paid in full, unless I became seriously delinquent on my account and missed several payments in row. I agreed, the money was wired to the dental office and the work begun that day and finished that week. Over a month later, I got the agreement in the mail, which said 13% per annum for the $3000. Six months later, without explanation they raised my interest rate to 26%, tacking on an extra $780.00 a year to a loan that I had explained I could only pay $50 to $75 a month on until my other responsibilities were met. That meant that not only was my loan-owed amount not going down from my $600 a year payments, but was going up an extra $180 a year, and then even more the next year, from interest on interest. They didn't notify me of this raise either, but I noticed it after a few months when my balance stopped going down. I called Care Credit to dispute the interest raise and retroactive charges. They stated that the original agreement was for 6 months. I went to my dental office and the assistant that sold me the loan and had heard everything on the phone called them and argued with them, but they still refused to change the interest rate, leaving her in tears. She stated that the same thing had been happening to a bunch of their customers, and that their dental office was no longer dealing with Care Credit, due to their dishonesty. When I said that I could not make bigger payments, I was truthful, the loan has climbed way over the original $3000, though I am still barely making the minimum payments monthly. In October, after a long illness, I went into the hospital for major surgery. The next day, I got a call on my cell phone telling me I had missed my payment by seven days, causing the first bill to show up on the bill owed in the next month, resulting in a $200+ minimum payment. Still doped up on major pain medicine and seriously ill physically, I said, "I've just had surgery yesterday and I am in the hospital. I haven't missed a single payment in years. I will have to call you back in four days when I get home to make the payment." The reply, "We can't wait four days Ms. ____. You'll have to make the payment right now." I said disbelievingly, "I am naked, in a hospital gown, doped up in a hospital. I don't happen to have a checkbook on me right now." "That's ok, Mrs. >, we can take credit cards too." I took a deep breath. Years of frustration of usurious interest and mounting debt rushed out of my lungs and I said, "I don't happen to have a credit card in my gown either!" "Well that's too bad, Mrs. , and we're sorry for your misfortune, but if you can't arrange to pay the full amount due, perhaps you can pay the back payment? Because if you don't we're going to have to take legal action." So I said, "Well, ok, if you cannot wait four days for a payment that is physically impossible for me to make today and take legal action, I will be forced to file bankruptcy, and since your company has already been paid the original $3000 and then some and counted it all as illegally charged interest, perhaps the judge will decide I don't owe you anything!" Then I hung up. When I got home, guess what was waiting? A letter from Care Credit saying that my account had been turned over to their legal department, and that they were waiting for the proof from the bankruptcy court showing that I had already filed for bankruptcy!

[Justification]

PS: When I got out of the hospital, I caught up my payments, because I am not a deadbeat and do my best to meet all of my obligations. But were they dishonest in their dealings? Absolutely!

[linicx]

It's not unusual. I received one of those GE cards. I read the fine print to learn the interest on my card is 30% accrued daily from the time the first charge is posted. Even if it is paid on time the usury is still very high for the average American. I have zero intentions of using it, but I will not cancel it either.

Credit worthiness is determined by your FICO score. The interest cost of everything you do from auto loans and mortgage payments, to insurance for you home and auto, to credit card interest rate is determined by FICO. Canceling a card is what FICO considers a negative action.

[Susan Paradis]

when I signed up for carecredit, I knew ONLY that the interest would begin after the 18 month promotion, NOT that ALL the interest that was deferred would be piled on after that. And wouldn't you know, Carecredit "upped" my credit limit to compensate for the overage, as it had made me go over my limit! As far as the interest charge applied, I had thought credit companies applied an interest according to YOUR particular credit rating, none of my credit cards have an interest over 12%!! I actually had EVERY intention of paying off my bill within the 18 month period, and from paying almost DOUBLE what my minimum charge was, I had a four hundred dollar balance, so imagine my shock when everything I paid for the last 18 months had DISAPPEARED!! So yes, I can see people's frustration in this, and actually was just signing in to pay my bill when I saw they had been sued. I will call them today to see if I can work something out with them, I know they need to make money but this was obviously someon'es BAD idea!!

[Lorida Parker]

I should be part of this class action suit. I was homeless for years. No address. Theg told me I would only pay 25 dollars a month, then bamm! I received an enormous bill. For a tooth that had to removed in mexico! I recieved a bill in the mail for close to 5000 thousand dollars. I cannot pay it, please put me in the class action suit.
Lorida Parker
[email]reereynolds1@juno.com[/email]