Credit One Bank To Pay $10.2 Million To Settle California Debt Collection Lawsuit

Credit One Bank has agreed to pay $10.2 million to resolve a civil consumer protection lawsuit brought by a coalition of California district attorneys over allegedly harassing debt collection calls to California consumers.

Core allegations

• Prosecutors alleged that Credit One and its vendors made debt collection calls with “unreasonable and excessive” frequency to California residents on delinquent credit card accounts.

• The complaint asserted calls continued even after consumers asked that calls stop or when Credit One had the wrong number, implicating California’s constitutional right to privacy and state consumer protection laws.

• Credit One allegedly allowed vendors to place up to eight calls per day, plus two additional calls under certain conditions, including on consecutive days, which prosecutors characterized as harassing and highly offensive to a reasonable person under California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.​

• Prosecutors also highlighted that Credit One had previously been found liable by a federal jury in 2019 for Rosenthal Act violations but allegedly continued similar calling practices thereafter.​

Parties and forum

• The case was filed in Riverside County Superior Court and handled by the California Debt Collection Task Force, comprising the district attorneys’ offices of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and Santa Clara counties.

• The stipulated final judgment was entered on February 19, 2026, by Judge Harold Hopp in Riverside County Superior Court.

Settlement terms and money breakdown

• Total payment: $10.2 million, consisting of $9 million in civil penalties and $1.2 million to cover investigative costs.

• Riverside County is slated to receive about $2.55 million from the total; Los Angeles County expects about $2.25 million in penalties plus roughly $300,000 in investigative cost reimbursement, after certain fund repayments.

• Credit One did not admit liability or wrongdoing in the settlement.

Distribution snapshot

Prospective relief and compliance obligations

• The judgment requires Credit One to comply with California and federal debt collection laws going forward, including the Rosenthal Act, and to refrain from unreasonably frequent or harassing collection calls.

• The order effectively memorializes that the bank must adjust its collection practices and vendor oversight so that call frequency and handling of wrong numbers and “stop calling” requests meet statutory standards.

Context and related litigation

• This California enforcement action is distinct from separate private class actions alleging unsolicited telemarketing or autodialed calls by Credit One under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, including a Florida federal TCPA class action filed in December 2025.​

• Together, these matters illustrate ongoing scrutiny of Credit One’s outbound calling practices across both collections and telemarketing contexts.