Judge Certifies BC Prepaid Cards Class; Settlement Reached Over Amex Prepaid Cards

A judge has certified the Class and a partial settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit over the fees and expiration dates on some prepaid credit cards.

The class action lawsuit had alleged Vancouver City Savings Credit Union and/or Citizens Bank of Canada; Peoples Card Services Limited Partnership, Peoples Card Services Ltd., and Peoples Trust Co.; All Trans Financial Services Credit Union Ltd.; and Amex Bank of Canada of improperly imposing fees or expiration dates on certain prepaid credit cards they issued between Nov. 1, 2008, and July 18, 2016, according to a Cision news release.

The defendants are formally accused of violating the British British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

The Court has certified two Subclasses of Class Members.

The BC Resident Subclass includes anyone residing in British Columbia who purchased, received, or otherwise acquired a prepaid credit card between Nov. 1, 2008, and July 18, 2016, that was issued or sold by one of the defendants and was used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, the news release said.

The Non-BC Resident Subclass is made up of everyone residing elsewhere in Canada who purchased, received, or otherwise acquired a prepaid credit card between Nov. 1, 2008, and July 18, 2016, that was issued or sold by Peoples Card Services Limited Partnership, Peoples Card Services Ltd., and Peoples Trust Co., Vancouver City Savings Credit Union and/or Citizens Bank of Canada and was used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

Non-BC Resident Subclass Members whose cards have a British Columbia choice of law and jurisdiction provision are automatically included in the Class but may choose to opt out of the class action lawsuit. 

Non-BC Resident Subclass Members whose cards do not have a British Columbia choice of law and jurisdiction provision are automatically excluded but can opt-in to participate.

Consumers may file an opt-in or opt-out request by submitting a form available on the settlement website.

A list of the covered cards is available here.

Amex Prepaid Card Settlement

Amex Bank has reached a proposed settlement to resolve the claims against it.

The Class in the Amex prepaid card settlement is defined as all British Columbia residents who purchased, received, or otherwise acquired a prepaid credit card between Nov. 1, 2008, and July 18, 2016, that was issued or sold by Amex and was used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, according to the settlement agreement.

As part of the settlement, Amex will pay $142,792, which represents 50 percent of activation fees charged to British Columbia consumers in excess of the maximum fee permitted, as well as an amount representing 50 percent of the monthly maintenances fees that were charged in excess of the maximum monthly amount permitted.

The money left in the trust after attorneys’ fees and other expenses are paid will be “distributed to or for the benefit of” Class Members.

A list of the covered cards, including images, is available on the settlement website.

Do you hold an Amex prepaid card or another prepaid card from one of the defendants? Let us know in the comment section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Jillian Dean of Branch McMaster LLP and Simon Lin of Evolink Law Group.

The Amex Prepaid Card Class Action Lawsuit is Jiang, et al. v. Peoples Trust Co., et al., Vancouver Registry No. VLC-S-S-147229, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

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