RALEIGH - An Arizona company that charged North Carolinians advance fees to apply for credit cards must refund consumers and quit making illegal telemarketing calls, the state Attorney General's Office said today.

According to a news release issued by Attorney General Roy Cooper this morning, consumers who paid Premier Nationwide Corporation an upfront fee to get a credit card or help improving their credit have until the end of the year to seek a full refund. The arrangement was mandated under a judgment approved by Wake County Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand and filed with the court this week, the release said.

Premier, which also does business as Premier Savings and Premier Savings Consultant, and its president Eric C. Synstad of Scottsdale, Arizona also agreed to stop making illegal telemarketing calls to North Carolina consumers and to pay $30,000 for consumer education and enforcement efforts, the Attorney General's Office said.

Premier was accused of contacting North Carolina consumers through deceptive mailings and telemarketing calls to pitch them pre-approved credit cards with credit lines as high as $50,000 for an upfront fee. The Attorney General contends that Premier violated state law by making unsolicited calls to North Carolinians who had placed their telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Consumers who got telemarketing calls from the company were asked to provide a debit or credit card number to pay a processing fee of approximately $379, Cooper's release said, but few of those who applied were able to get credit cards through Premier.

Once people paid the fee, according to Cooper's office, 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, the release said.

Consumers who did business with Premier since April 15, 2004 and want their money back should call the Attorney General's consumer protection division at 1-877-566-7226 by December 31. The call is toll-free within North Carolina.

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