Disney Visa Cards Targeted in Store Credit Card Investigation

Use of store branded credit and debit cards are becoming at popular everyday retailers, and have even expanded to amusement parks like Disney.

Some branded credit cards, like Disney Visa cards lure consumers in with their seemingly fantastic promotions of being interest free.

However, allegations that cards like Disney Visa cards may be not be the great deal they appear to be are under investigation by class action attorneys.

Disney Visa Cards – To Good to Be True?

The Disney credit card reward program, through Visa, offers a wide variety of benefits and rewards that would be tempting for any major Disney park goer or shopper. Disney Visa cards comes with 1 percent earnings in reward dollars on purchases, which is relatively low, but has park-specific perks as well that could make the deal seem worthwhile for Disney fans.

Holders of Disney Visa cards reportedly receive a variety of benefits, including VIP packages, access to events, merchandise discounts, Disney Character meet and greets, and vacation discounts.

While the company’s site does advertise Disney Visa cards as having no annual fee, but its no-interest policy is in very fine print. The card must be paid off by a given due date each month, otherwise interest begins to accrue from point of purchase.

The No Interest Offer Problem

Store brand credit cards may offer interest free advantages, but this can actually be a deceptive way of luring customers in. In-store card offers proclaim themselves to be extremely beneficial to the consumer, rewarding them for consistent store loyalty.

At its core, interest free means that initially, an item you buy on a credit card has zero percent interest for a given amount of time.

However, if that item has not been fully paid off by the time agreed upon (often 6, 12, or 18 months) then the consumer owes retroactive interest on top of the original purchase amount.

Too often, annual interest rates for these deferred interest programs are as much as 25 percent.

Charging a Disney vacation or hotel package may cost more than a consumer has in savings. An interest free store brand credit card allows customers to make these purchases when necessary and pay it back over time.

A late payment in these situations, however, can be extremely costly. Even when a customer believes that their store credit card offers a zero-percent interest rate, it is actually deferred interest.

Some consumers say that the distinction between these two things is confusing and, depending on the way a company advertises, may be purposely deceptive in order to trap customers.

Deceptive deferred interest charges are not the only problems associated with store brand credit cards. Some consumers report that they are charged unexpected returned payment fees of up to $30.

Disney Visa cards program charges these fees of up to $29, but this is only mentioned in fine print. Customers may be completely unaware that such charges could be incurred without having signed up for an overdraft protection program.

Federal law requires that banks receive a consumer’s express consent before authorizing any kind of overdraft protection, which would deny a transaction rather than allowing overdraft fees to be charged.

Store brand cards, however, do not have to follow these rules, and charge returned payment or insufficient funds fees instead of overdraft fees.

Store Brand Credit Card Lawsuit Investigation

Branded store credit and debit cards from companies like Disney are being targeted in a class action lawsuit investigation.

The investigation is looking at potentially unfair and deceptive practices employed through interest free, deferred interest, or zero percent interest card offers, which may end up costing consumers,

If you signed up for a Disney Visa card, and you feel like you were not adequately informed of the program’s interest or penalty policies, you may be able to join a class action lawsuit.

Join a Free Store Debit Card and Credit Card Fees Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

Did you participate in a 0% interest promotion on a store-branded credit card and were charged an interest fee? Were you unexpectedly charged a Returned Payment Fee on a store-branded debit card? You may be eligible to join this class action lawsuit investigation into allegedly deceptive store card fees.

Join the Investigation Now