Mercury Payment Systems Overcharge Class Action Lawsuit and Settlement

The judge overseeing the Mercury Payment Systems class action lawsuit has proposed a settlement that appears acceptable to both parties. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit alleged Mercury Payment Systems overcharged merchants for processing credit card transactions, as well as illegally adding unauthorized fees.

According to class counsel, the plaintiffs did not know Mercury had for several years implemented a vast fraudulent scheme on the company’s customers. Mercury allegedly increased interchange fees that that were owed to numerous banks, including Visa and MasterCard. The deceptive business practice involved not explaining the additional fees with merchants.

The lead plaintiffs asserted that Mercury enjoyed a windfall of more than $100,000 million by charging unlawful hidden fees. Court documents reveal Mercury Payment Systems was charged with fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violation of federal RICO statutes. Mercury continues to deny the allegations, but the company settled the class action lawsuit suit to avoid the coast and uncertainty of a protracted civil trial.

What You Need To Know

Class counsel issued a press release that stated class member of the Mercury Payment Systems class action settlement “include anyone who contracted with or through Mercury, or was referred by Mercury to Global, to receive payment processing services from Oct. 9, 2009 through May 16, 2017and was charged a card association access fee exceeding the amount of published fees at the date of the charge and/or was charged an interchange rate exceeding published interchanged rates if the contract indicated fees and rates would be passed through at cost.” Eligible class members had until August 14 to opt out of the class action settlement or contest sections of the agreement.

The agreement defines current customers as those who contracted through Mercury as of May 16, 2017. Terms of the settlement make everyone else former customers. Current customers can expect to receive automatic cash payments through electronic fund transfers, unless they decide to accept the credit option by the claim form submission deadline date.  The potential reward depends on the total number of valid and timely claims filed. Deadline to submit a claim form is October 13, 2017.

The judge presiding over the class action lawsuit called Champs Sports Bar & Grill Co., et al. v. Mercury Payment Systems LLC and Global Payments Direct Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-00012-MHC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has scheduled the final hearing on August 29, 2017. To learn what transpired at the final hearing visit the class action settlement website www.MPSProcessingSettlement.com. The class action settlement website also lists the members of the class counsel, which include David D. Pope and Gregory J. Phillips from Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP.