Louisiana Judge Blunder

Here comes legalized credit-card slamming!

So now a retail outfit can check your credit without your permission, then have their squaliformes partner issue you a credit card with charges already on it even though you wanted to charge your purchases on another card.

According to Judge Carl Barbier, US District Court (Eastern Division of LA), that's OK. Not only is that OK, the squaliformes can then sick a slimey collection suckerfish on you when you cut up the card you didn't want and send it back to the retailer who started the scam.

Now far be it for me to say anything against the fine, er, shall I say, highly intriguing products Ms. Langtry routinely acquires and admirably, er, wears from time to time from the well-known retailer of women's, er, delicates and such, but they pulled this fast one on a lady who wanted to buy some products on an American Express card.

And this so-called judge ruled that it's OK for them to just run a credit check without you even knowing let alone authorizing it, just because they say they intended to extend you credit? Even when you didn't ask for it and in fact wanted to pay another way (and indeed thought you already had)?

It wasn't until the new un-requested card and statement showed up in the mail that the victim even knew they had pulled a fast one.

This is the same adle-brained philosophy that let long distance carrier slamming get out of hand some years ago.

If they had brought this case before this court I would have had a very difficult time balancing out my own desire to see more of, er, allow Ms. Langtry to continue her consumer-wearables pursuits with the afforementioned retailer versus fining them and their squaliforme partners into oblivion.

And this judge is hereby sentenced to six weeks in the hoosegow with only a few items of, er, clothing from the retailer's catalog. No, he can't keep the catalog, either.

The Honorable Judge Roy Bean.