Class Action Lawsuit Aimed at Kohl’s Account Ease Program

A federal judge has agreed a proposed class action lawsuit against Kohl’s Department Stores and Capital One Financial Corporation can proceed.

The department store and financial institution combined forces in 2011 to charge Kohl’s credit card customers for worthless services through Kohl’s Account Ease Program and PrivacyGuard.

Kohl’s Account Ease Program Problems

Kohl’s credit card fees came under fire in February 2015 when a class action lawsuit was filed regarding Kohl’s Account Ease Program. This program supposedly allowed a customer to cancel his account balance in the event of a qualifying catastrophe such as unemployment, disability, hospitalization or death. The PrivacyGuard aspect is a credit monitoring program.

Kohl’s automatically charged its credit card customers $1.60 for each $100 on the ending monthly balance to cover the Kohl’s Account Ease Program and an additional $14.99 a month for PrivacyGuard.

Despite having to pay the required monthly Kohl’s credit card fees, consumers received no real benefit from either program. Even after repeatedly paying Kohl’s Account Ease fees for months, credit card customers were declined benefits after filing claims.

The class action lawsuit also alleges the PrivacyGuard services were never provided.

Kohl’s Account Ease Premium

Kohl’s Account Ease Program was originally an agreement between Chase NA and Kohl’s. When the deal with Chase ended in 2011 and Kohl’s partnered with Capital One instead, the plaintiffs argue that the agreement with Chase ended. The program that began anew with Capital One was a whole new ballgame because new credit cards were issued.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said, “You can’t have these changes without getting customers’ assent. They (Kohl’s) cannot continue to argue that the Chase agreement somehow continued to live on after these changes.”

Kohl’s and Capital One allegedly participated in deceptive practices by “enrolling and/or charging customers without their express permission, express informed consent, or express agreement,” which is also called “slamming.”

The lawsuit also claims that despite all Kohl’s credit card holders being charged the Kohl’s Account Ease premium, Kohl’s discriminates against certain customers. Among those who do not qualify for payment protection are credit card holders who are:

• Self-employed
• Unemployed
• Working part-time
• Retired
• Disabled

Even customers who were qualified were kept in the dark about the benefits and eligibility rules because Kohl’s and Capital One “failed to meaningfully apprise those class members of the program.”

The judge is allowing the claims in the proposed class action lawsuit to continue after having previously denied the bid by Kohl’s to force the claims into arbitration.

Kohl’s Account Ease Fee

Identity theft is a big business these days, for both the thieves and for the institutions that offer protection from such thievery.

The Kohl’s Account Ease Program lawsuit alleges that Kohl’s and Capital One allegedly “marketed and/or imposed PrivacyGuard – for which customers made monthly payments – as a product that purports to ‘protect’ consumers’ identity, ostensibly through credit monitoring and credit report retrieval services.”

The plaintiffs allege this credit protection service was never provided.

What You Can Do

If you have held a Kohl’s store credit card and been required to pay fees for Kohl’s Account Ease Program for services never provided, you may have a claim in a class action lawsuit.

The Kohl’s Credit Card Class Action Lawsuit is Jennifer Gordon, et al. v. Kohl’s Corporation, et al., Case No. 15-CV-730, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Join a Free Kohl’s Credit Card Fees Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were billed for Kohl’s Account Ease and/or PrivacyGuard on your Kohl’s credit card from February 2011 until the present, you may qualify to participate in this class action lawsuit investigation. Get help now by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

Join Now