Higher One set to be fined by federal regulators
The Associated Press reports that Higher One Holdings is preparing to pay a fine to federal regulators investigating overdraft fees the company charged between 2008 and 2011 to college students who used its bank cards. However, the amount of the fine was not disclosed.
Higher One said it had started refunding fees in December 2011, and had finished returning $4.7 million to customers as of March 31.
According to the report, a Higher One representative declined comment on the pending agreement with regulators. However, Higher One founder and Chief Operating Officer Miles Lasater said in a May interview that the company takes compliance with government rules seriously. “We are committed to providing good value accounts that are designed for college students,” Lasater added.
Students must review the company’s fee list when they sign up for an account, Lasater says. He cited a study commissioned by Higher One that declared the company “a low-cost provider for this market.” The same study found that the median fees charged to the two million students with Higher One accounts totaled $49 annually.
This fine is not associated with the report issued in May from the Public Interest Research Group that examined fees associated with campus debite card accounts.
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