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Florida, 47 States, D.C., And CFPB Join $136 Million Chase Bank Settlement
TALLAHASSEE --- Chase Bank USA N.A. and Chase Bankcard Services, Inc. will re- form its unlawful credit card debt collection practices through a $136 million joint state-federal settlement with Attorney General Pam Bondi, 47 other attorneys general, the District of Colum- bia, and the Consumer Finan- cial Protection Bureau.
Florida will receive the largest remedial payment of any state in the settlement. As part of the agreement, more than 5,000 Chase customers in Florida will receive more than $4.6 million in restitution with an additional $1.6 million going to the state’s general rev- enue fund.
In addition, $15.3 million will go to 47 non-profit organ- izations across the state to be used for legal services, finan- cial literacy, and other pro- grams related to assisting Floridians with managing debt.
The joint state-federal agreement, through an assur- ance of voluntary compliance with the states and a separate order with the CFPB, follows an investigation into Chase’s past debt collection practices.
The agreement requires Chase to significantly reform its credit card debt collection
practices in areas of declara- tions, collections litigation, debt sales and debt buying.
Among other reforms, the agreement requires new safe- guards to help ensure debt in- formation is accurate and inaccurate data is corrected, provides additional informa- tion to consumers who owe debts, and bars Chase’s debt buyers from reselling con- sumer debts to other pur- chasers.
For collections litigation that was pending between Jan. 1, 2009 and June 30, 2014, Chase is also ceasing collection activity on judgments held by Chase and seeking to with- draw, dismiss or terminate any pending litigation matters and will request that credit report- ing agencies not report these judgments against borrowers.
Chase is required to send notice to affected borrowers that it is ceasing these collec- tion efforts.
Debt collectors are bound by state and federal laws, in- cluding the Fair Debt Collec- tion Practices Act, that prohibit debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or de- ceptive practices to collect from consumers.
Consumers may also have the option of pursuing claims in state or federal court.
It’s A Man World
As a child, I was taught that a little girl plays a certain role in society as we develop into women, based purely off of at- tributed behavioral character- istics and the gender traits we respectively develop. How- ever, with the rising popularity and significance of social media, today’s youth are being exposed to lifestyles that sug- gest otherwise. Gender may determine inherent traits, but they do not predict the qualifi- cations of male or female to excel in a certain career. Should gender traits still be used as a frame of reference for making life long career de- cisions?
Men are credited in our so- ciety with being independent, disciplined, passionate, and confident. Women, by con- trast, are often viewed as side- kicks to their male counterparts, possessing traits such as affection, patience, nurturance and empathy. Can the existence of gender traits affect an employer’s decision making skills when applied to choosing the right candidate for a job position? It shouldn’t, not when studies indicate that
women earned 57.3% of bach- elor’s degrees in all fields, make up 47% of the workforce. Furthermore, black women are dominating in the pool of college attendees. In 2014, women owned 9.1 million firms, employed approxi- mately 7.9 million people, and did $1.4 trillion in sales.
These statistics provide a strong indication that women are, indeed, the future leaders of our country. However, our presence remains under satu- rated in certain fields such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathemat- ics) and Film/Television just to touch on a few.
I had the great opportunity to sit down with a woman whose career represents one of the greatest gender disparities, Lieutenant Chanel Lee, an MH60-T Helicopter Pilot at the Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater, FL. She expressed the barriers she’s had to over- come in a field for which she always knew she was destined.
“I am the only woman, the only Black woman Pilot out of 75 pilots at the unit,” Lee ex- plained. “Starting my work
day, every Monday through Friday at 7 am, I have to men- tally prepare myself to walk into a job with individuals that are totally un-relatable,” she continued. “I try my best. As a woman, I know that I have to work twice as hard to get the position, due largely to as- sumed gender traits of women and my aspiration to do a job typically preformed by a man.”
When asked what she thinks needs to change to drive more women into male- dominated careers Lieu- tenant Lee retorted, “Exposure to the possibilities.”
“There is power in num- bers! We need a more diverse workplace and education as young as the elementary level.” I couldn’t agree more.
I had to bid Lieutenant Lee adieu, as she was prepar- ing for a flight, but the thoughts posed by our conver- sation have still lingered. Should gender traits be con- sidered when making career decisions? No, they shouldn’t. Intelligence, qualification, and dedication should be the de- ciding factor in choosing your career path and seeking the best employee candidate. I be- lieve if you are able to put your mind to it, then the possibili- ties are endless, and as the late Whitney Houston once said, “I like being a woman even in a man’s world. After all, men can’t wear dresses, but we can wear the pants.”
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FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13-A