NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – An ATM machine company is doubling the amount of fees it charges to customers who want to perform balance inquiries, a class action lawsuit says.
Plaintiff Jerome Polvay and his lawyers at Lynch Carpenter filed the case May 25 in New York federal court against FCTI, Inc., which supplies machines to 7-Eleven stores. At issue are $0.25 fees charged for balance inquiries to “out-of-network” customers.
The lawsuit says users are first asked if they want to perform a balance inquiry, and if they select yes they are charged $0.25. But FCTI’s machines later ask “Would you like to print your Balance and continue the Transaction?”
If the user selects yes, they are charged a second $0.25 fee, the lawsuit says.
“The very word ‘inquiry’ is defined as asking for information,” the lawsuit says. “Here, the customers already inquired about their balance information and this second prompt simply asks if they would like to print the already inquired balance information on a receipt while simultaneously proceeding to the cash withdrawal.
“Furthermore, pressing the ‘Continue’ button on this prompt is the only way for customers to proceed directly to the intended cash withdrawal.”
The suit says class members are owed statutory damages pursuant to New York General Business Law, as well as a recovery of all wrongfully attained funds.