More than 3 1/2 million people who used Discover credit cards during the last five years will share about $200 million in restitution for marketing practices that federal regulators say were unfair and deceptive, two federal agencies announced Monday.



The compensation, averaging $57 per cardholder, will go to customers charged for add-on products such as "Payment Protection" or "Wallet Protection."


Regulators said telemarketers for the Delaware bank followed misleading scripts and often sped through fee disclosures, leading customers to believe that the bank was touting benefits that came free with their cards.



"Many consumers did not realize that their accounts were actually charged for these products," said Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which brought the case with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.


Discover also agreed to pay $14 million in penalties to settle the case.



About 4.7 million customers were billed for the services between December 2007 and August 2011, the period covered by the case.





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