Discover Financial Services has come to a settlement agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The deal will see Discover paying around $200 million in refunds to customers in addition to $14 million in civil fees. Discover is being forced to pay these fees after it was found that its sales campaign misled customers. Specifically, its telemarketing practices were found to be deceptive, often leading customers to believe they were getting things for free, or would not be charged until after a review process. In addition, customers were enrolled for product plans without their consent, and subsequently charged for them. Lastly, Discover was found to have withheld disqualifying factors from customers for certain programs.In addition to the hefty fees, Discover must change its marketing tactics to be less misleading.
