news-record.com

An Arizona telemarketer that pitched advance fee credit cards has been ordered to repay consumers in North Carolina.

Under a judgment approved by Wake County Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand and filed with the court this week, consumers who paid Premier Nationwide Corporation an upfront fee to get a credit card or help improve their credit have until the end of the year to seek a full refund, according to a news release from state Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Consumers in North Carolina who did business with Premier since April 15, 2004, and want their money back should contact the state's Consumer Protection Division by Dec. 31 at (877)5-NO-SCAM.

Under the judgment, Premier, which also does business as Premier Savings and Premier Savings Consultant, and its president Eric C. Synstad of Scottsdale, Ariz., agreed to stop making illegal telemarketing calls to North Carolina consumers and to pay $30,000 for consumer education and enforcement efforts, according to the news release.

The state contended that Premier deceived consumers with its marketing of credit cards and debt consolidation services. The company also violated state law by making unsolicited telemarketing calls to North Carolinians who had placed their telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, according to the release.

Cooper alleged that Premier contacted North Carolina consumers through mailings and telemarketing calls to pitch them pre-approved credit cards with credit lines as high as $50,000 for an upfront fee. Few consumers were able to get credit cards through Premier.

Consumers who got telemarketing calls from the company were asked to provide a debit or credit card number to pay a processing fee of about $379. Once people paid the fee they were told to contact a bank to get their credit card.

But the bank told consumers to fill out a credit card application and in most cases the consumers' applications were denied.