Citibank preys on mentally retarded

Based on "Gotta Give 'em Credit", Dollars and Sense, #221, January 1999, page 5

Although brain-damaged in a childhood car accident, Scott Swan holds a job. But he is easy prey for telemarketers. He made the mistake of buying credit-card protection insurance (a sure sign of a mark) and eventually ran up credit card balances of $17,000 on Sears, Discover, and Citibank Visa. He signed up (on the credit cards) for renter's insurance, legal insurance, a roadside assistance plan (he does not own a car or drive) and 8 credit card registration plans. "After calls from the Iowa Attorney General's Office and the Wall Street Journal, Sears forgave Swan's $2,306 balance and agreed to swallow a further $1,987 in fees. But Citibank is refusing to settle and declined to comment on the case."