| Citi mislead credit card customers |
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| Written by Gary Howes |
| Thursday, 23 April 2009 11:42 |
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Economic Policy: Today the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) imposed requirements on Citifinancial Europe plc (NYSE:C) after its terms and conditions had wrongly claimed it did not share joint liability for overseas credit card transactions. ___________________________ Under the requirements Citi will invite those consumers who feel they may have been misled, and think they have a claim, to contact them. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, credit card issuers are individually and jointly liable with suppliers if a consumer has a valid claim against the supplier for misrepresentation or breach of contract. Following an investigation, the OFT found that up until 1 December 2008, Citi had expressly stated in the terms and conditions of several of its credit cards that use of the cards abroad would not be covered by the provisions of section 75. This has been legally incorrect since 22 March 2006 when the Court of Appeal gave judgment, subsequently upheld by the House of Lords, that section 75 did apply to overseas transactions. The OFT raised its concerns with Citi and confirmed it intended to impose requirements. Citi acknowledged the problem and, as provided for under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, made a proposal to address the OFT's concerns. Ray Watson, OFT Director of Credit, said: 'Section 75 provides important protection for consumers who use their credit cards abroad. While in practice Citi has been honouring claims for overseas use of its cards, some of its customers may have been misled into not claiming by its stated exclusion of liability for overseas transactions. Citi has recognised the problem and has acted responsibly to make consumers aware of their rights.' 
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