The following Quote is of a Case which is somewhat similar to that the present position of ANZ Nominees in respect to Opes Prime Accounts which were in order.
The Quote:-
' Wachovia to Pay $144 Million in Telemarketing Case (Update3)
By Alison Vekshin and David Mildenberg
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Wachovia Corp. will pay as much as $144 million to settle a U.S. regulator's claims that the bank's poor oversight allowed telemarketers and payment processors to withdraw millions of dollars from customers' accounts.
Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, will pay as much as $125 million in restitution to customers, a $10 million civil penalty and $8.9 million for consumer-education http://www.hotcopper.com.au/posts_latest.aspprograms, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said today in a statement on its Web site. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the Washington-based OCC said.
The settlement stems from an 18-month investigation that determined Wachovia profited from fees and other charges on accounts maintained by payment processors and telemarketers who took advantage of thousands of consumers, most of them elderly, from June 2003 through December 2006.
``The OCC concluded that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices during the course of its relationships with the payment processors and telemarketers,'' the agency said today in its news release.
Telemarketers got account information over the phone by selling consumers ``questionable'' products such as identity- theft certificates, according to the statement. The information was then used to transfer funds from customers' accounts to Wachovia accounts held by the companies without authorization or without providing products, the regulator said.
Wachovia's risk-management and loss-management staffs ``failed to take quick action to terminate these account relationships or otherwise correct the problem,'' the OCC said.
`Unacceptable Situation'
``This situation was unacceptable and we regret it happened,'' Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips Brown said in a telephone interview. ``We will work diligently to provide restitution to consumers affected by the situation and to educate consumers. Wachovia is pleased to have resolved this matter with the OCC.''
Two class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of former Wachovia customers seek total damages of more than $500 million, said Howard Langer, the Philadelphia attorney representing the customers. The cases are scheduled for trial in November in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
``The behavior of Wachovia was extraordinarily shameful,'' said Langer, a partner at Langer Grogan & Diver. ``It wasn't just the money that the telemarketers took, but also that Wachovia charged its own customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdraft fees.''
Regulatory Settlement
The regulatory settlement requires Wachovia to develop new policies for payment processors, telemarketers and so-called remotely created checks used for telephone and online transactions. The telemarketers and payment processors used remote checks, which aren't created by accountholders and don't carry signatures, to transfer customers' funds into Wachovia accounts.
OCC spokesman Robert Garsson declined to comment on the settlement beyond the statement.
The OCC, the U.S. Treasury Department unit that regulates national banks, issued guidelines yesterday calling for better underwriting and monitoring of companies processing payments for telemarketers and other merchants. The agency oversees about 1,700 national banks and 50 U.S. branches of foreign banks.
Wachovia shares rose 78 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $28.16 at 1:07 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alison Vekshin in Washington at [email protected]; David Mildenberg in Charlotte at [email protected] Last Updated: April 25, 2008 14:17 EDT
Email this article Printer friendly format Wachovia to Pay $144 Million in Telemarketing Case (Update3)
By Alison Vekshin and David Mildenberg
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Wachovia Corp. will pay as much as $144 million to settle a U.S. regulator's claims that the bank's poor oversight allowed telemarketers and payment processors to withdraw millions of dollars from customers' accounts.
Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, will pay as much as $125 million in restitution to customers, a $10 million civil penalty and $8.9 million for consumer-education programs, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said today in a statement on its Web site. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the Washington-based OCC said.
The settlement stems from an 18-month investigation that determined Wachovia profited from fees and other charges on accounts maintained by payment processors and telemarketers who took advantage of thousands of consumers, most of them elderly, from June 2003 through December 2006.
``The OCC concluded that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices during the course of its relationships with the payment processors and telemarketers,'' the agency said today in its news release.
Telemarketers got account information over the phone by selling consumers ``questionable'' products such as identity- theft certificates, according to the statement. The information was then used to transfer funds from customers' accounts to Wachovia accounts held by the companies without authorization or without providing products, the regulator said.
Wachovia's risk-management and loss-management staffs ``failed to take quick action to terminate these account relationships or otherwise correct the problem,'' the OCC said.
`Unacceptable Situation'
``This situation was unacceptable and we regret it happened,'' Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips Brown said in a telephone interview. ``We will work diligently to provide restitution to consumers affected by the situation and to educate consumers. Wachovia is pleased to have resolved this matter with the OCC.''
Two class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of former Wachovia customers seek total damages of more than $500 million, said Howard Langer, the Philadelphia attorney representing the customers. The cases are scheduled for trial in November in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
``The behavior of Wachovia was extraordinarily shameful,'' said Langer, a partner at Langer Grogan & Diver. ``It wasn't just the money that the telemarketers took, but also that Wachovia charged its own customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdraft fees.''
Regulatory Settlement
The regulatory settlement requires Wachovia to develop new policies for payment processors, telemarketers and so-called remotely created checks used for telephone and online transactions. The telemarketers and payment processors used remote checks, which aren't created by accountholders and don't carry signatures, to transfer customers' funds into Wachovia accounts.
OCC spokesman Robert Garsson declined to comment on the settlement beyond the statement.
The OCC, the U.S. Treasury Department unit that regulates national banks, issued guidelines yesterday calling for better underwriting and monitoring of companies processing payments for telemarketers and other merchants. The agency oversees about 1,700 national banks and 50 U.S. branches of foreign banks.
Wachovia shares rose 78 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $28.16 at 1:07 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alison Vekshin in Washington at [email protected]; David Mildenberg in Charlotte at [email protected] Last Updated: April 25, 2008 14:17 EDT'// End Quote
No responsibility taken for any losses in association with this Posting.
Very very Interesting,
moly Hello Everyone,
The following Quote is of a Case which is somewhat similar to that the present position of ANZ Nominees in respect to Opes Prime Accounts which were in order.
The Quote:-' Wachovia to Pay $144 Million in Telemarketing Case (Update3)
By Alison Vekshin and David Mildenberg
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Wachovia Corp. will pay as much as $144 million to settle a U.S. regulator's claims that the bank's poor oversight allowed telemarketers and payment processors to withdraw millions of dollars from customers' accounts.
Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, will pay as much as $125 million in restitution to customers, a $10 million civil penalty and $8.9 million for consumer-education http://www.hotcopper.com.au/posts_latest.aspprograms, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said today in a statement on its Web site. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the Washington-based OCC said.
The settlement stems from an 18-month investigation that determined Wachovia profited from fees and other charges on accounts maintained by payment processors and telemarketers who took advantage of thousands of consumers, most of them elderly, from June 2003 through December 2006.
``The OCC concluded that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices during the course of its relationships with the payment processors and telemarketers,'' the agency said today in its news release.
Telemarketers got account information over the phone by selling consumers ``questionable'' products such as identity- theft certificates, according to the statement. The information was then used to transfer funds from customers' accounts to Wachovia accounts held by the companies without authorization or without providing products, the regulator said.
Wachovia's risk-management and loss-management staffs ``failed to take quick action to terminate these account relationships or otherwise correct the problem,'' the OCC said.
`Unacceptable Situation'
``This situation was unacceptable and we regret it happened,'' Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips Brown said in a telephone interview. ``We will work diligently to provide restitution to consumers affected by the situation and to educate consumers. Wachovia is pleased to have resolved this matter with the OCC.''
Two class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of former Wachovia customers seek total damages of more than $500 million, said Howard Langer, the Philadelphia attorney representing the customers. The cases are scheduled for trial in November in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
``The behavior of Wachovia was extraordinarily shameful,'' said Langer, a partner at Langer Grogan & Diver. ``It wasn't just the money that the telemarketers took, but also that Wachovia charged its own customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdraft fees.''
Regulatory Settlement
The regulatory settlement requires Wachovia to develop new policies for payment processors, telemarketers and so-called remotely created checks used for telephone and online transactions. The telemarketers and payment processors used remote checks, which aren't created by accountholders and don't carry signatures, to transfer customers' funds into Wachovia accounts.
OCC spokesman Robert Garsson declined to comment on the settlement beyond the statement.
The OCC, the U.S. Treasury Department unit that regulates national banks, issued guidelines yesterday calling for better underwriting and monitoring of companies processing payments for telemarketers and other merchants. The agency oversees about 1,700 national banks and 50 U.S. branches of foreign banks.
Wachovia shares rose 78 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $28.16 at 1:07 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alison Vekshin in Washington at [email protected]; David Mildenberg in Charlotte at [email protected] Last Updated: April 25, 2008 14:17 EDT
Email this article Printer friendly format Wachovia to Pay $144 Million in Telemarketing Case (Update3)
By Alison Vekshin and David Mildenberg
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Wachovia Corp. will pay as much as $144 million to settle a U.S. regulator's claims that the bank's poor oversight allowed telemarketers and payment processors to withdraw millions of dollars from customers' accounts.
Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, will pay as much as $125 million in restitution to customers, a $10 million civil penalty and $8.9 million for consumer-education programs, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said today in a statement on its Web site. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the Washington-based OCC said.
The settlement stems from an 18-month investigation that determined Wachovia profited from fees and other charges on accounts maintained by payment processors and telemarketers who took advantage of thousands of consumers, most of them elderly, from June 2003 through December 2006.
``The OCC concluded that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices during the course of its relationships with the payment processors and telemarketers,'' the agency said today in its news release.
Telemarketers got account information over the phone by selling consumers ``questionable'' products such as identity- theft certificates, according to the statement. The information was then used to transfer funds from customers' accounts to Wachovia accounts held by the companies without authorization or without providing products, the regulator said.
Wachovia's risk-management and loss-management staffs ``failed to take quick action to terminate these account relationships or otherwise correct the problem,'' the OCC said.
`Unacceptable Situation'
``This situation was unacceptable and we regret it happened,'' Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips Brown said in a telephone interview. ``We will work diligently to provide restitution to consumers affected by the situation and to educate consumers. Wachovia is pleased to have resolved this matter with the OCC.''
Two class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of former Wachovia customers seek total damages of more than $500 million, said Howard Langer, the Philadelphia attorney representing the customers. The cases are scheduled for trial in November in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
``The behavior of Wachovia was extraordinarily shameful,'' said Langer, a partner at Langer Grogan & Diver. ``It wasn't just the money that the telemarketers took, but also that Wachovia charged its own customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdraft fees.''
Regulatory Settlement
The regulatory settlement requires Wachovia to develop new policies for payment processors, telemarketers and so-called remotely created checks used for telephone and online transactions. The telemarketers and payment processors used remote checks, which aren't created by accountholders and don't carry signatures, to transfer customers' funds into Wachovia accounts.
OCC spokesman Robert Garsson declined to comment on the settlement beyond the statement.
The OCC, the U.S. Treasury Department unit that regulates national banks, issued guidelines yesterday calling for better underwriting and monitoring of companies processing payments for telemarketers and other merchants. The agency oversees about 1,700 national banks and 50 U.S. branches of foreign banks.
Wachovia shares rose 78 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $28.16 at 1:07 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alison Vekshin in Washington at [email protected]; David Mildenberg in Charlotte at [email protected] Last Updated: April 25, 2008 14:17 EDT'// End Quote
No responsibility taken for any losses in association with this Posting.
Very very Interesting,
moly
ANZ Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: LT Sell Disclosure: Not Held
(20min delay)