NORTH CAROLINA BANKING INSTITUTE Volume 8 | Issue 1 Article 18 2004 Third Circuit's Decision in Roberts v. Fleet Bank: Thinking outside of the Schummer Box or Consumerism Gone Berserk John A. Marold Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncbi Part of the Banking and Finance Law Commons Recommended Citation John A. Marold, Third Circuit's Decision in Roberts v. Fleet Bank: Thinking outside of the Schummer Box or Consumerism Gone Berserk, 8 N.C. Banking Inst. 399 (2004). Available at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncbi/vol8/iss1/18 This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Carolina Banking Institute by an authorized administrator of Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Third Circuit's Decision in Roberts v. Fleet Bank: Thinking Outside of the "Schumer Box" or "Consumerism Gone Berserk"? Since the mid-1980's, banks have become dependent on non-interest income, such as credit card and banking-related fees.' In fact, nearly half of the operating income of many commercial banks is derived from non-interest income.2 Consequently, credit card issuers fiercely compete to win a greater market share by aggressive marketing techniques.3 "Pre-approved" credit card solicitations offering "low introductory" interest rates 4 or no annual fees are commonplace in America's mailboxes.5 Consumer activists refer to these offers as- "bait and switch" or "shark in the mailbox" tactics that are designed to trick the unwary consumer.6 Credit card marketing efforts have intensified over the past decade.7 In 1990, 1.1 billion credit card solicitations assailed 1.