Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has stepped up to the plate once more, hammering out a revised settlement with financial behemoth Capital One. This new agreement, aimed at delivering justice to consumers who've been hoodwinked, promises a hefty sum of $425 million for restitution. According to an announcement from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, this payout is a significant uptick from the initial proposed settlement, which was set to dole out less than $300 million in reparations.
It seems Capital One has been playing a less-than-fair game, selling its 360 Savings accounts as high-yielding options while purposely opting to keep the interest rates stuck at a standstill despite rising national trends since 2022. To directly address this wrong, the settlement also compels Capital One to fully match its 360 Savings account rates with those of the 360 Performance Savings. In a move to right wrongs, the new settlement will require Capital One to not only make the restitution payments but also to quietly put an end to a duplicitous system that's been misleading customers for too long. "For years, Capital One shortchanged Maryland consumers while steering new customers to much higher rates," said Attorney General Brown, as reported by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.
Earlier in the saga, Attorney General Brown banded together with a group of bipartisan attorneys general to submit an amicus brief that expressed outright disagreement with the previously proposed settlement. The document made clear that the prior agreement was inadequate and that Capital One's customers deserved better. Consequently, the court tossed out the initial settlement, adhering to the concerns voiced by the coalition led by Attorney General Brown.
Following the court's dismissal of the inadequate proposition, Capital One was pressed to forge a new and more equitable agreement. Under the enhanced glare of justice, the revised settlement was preliminarily approved. It extends beyond direct restitution, offering a prospective $530 million in additional interest for consumers across the nation.
For Capital One customers who felt the sting of these practices, redress is now not just a possibility but an impending reality.
