Walmart delivery drivers were forced to use illegally opened payment accounts, a federal lawsuit alleges. Nam Y. Ho/AP Hide caption
toggle caption
Nam Y. Ho/AP
Federal lawsuit alleges Walmart defrauded more than 1 million delivery workers by using Social Security numbers and other personal information to create savings accounts without their knowledge or consent. I am doing it.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday accused Walmart and payments platform Branch Messenger of forcing delivery workers to pay more than $10 million in fees through those accounts starting in 2021. Walmart, in turn, accused authorities of filing a hasty lawsuit full of errors.
According to the government’s lawsuit, Walmart told drivers delivering packages to customers’ homes that they would lose their jobs if they did not receive paychecks using branch accounts. The complaint alleges that “thousands” of drivers had their wages deposited into branch accounts before agreeing to the terms of the contract.
Drivers who don’t want or don’t know how to access their branch accounts lose their Walmart delivery jobs and, in many cases, their wages that were credited to their branch accounts, the lawsuit says. .
Although Walmart told drivers they would have immediate access to their earnings, the lawsuit also describes the complicated process drivers had to follow to have their wages transferred to their regular bank accounts. are.
The “immediate” transfer option required fees that amounted to more than $10 million paid to Branch over the years, according to the complaint. Other options took several days, and both options had daily and monthly limits on the amount drivers could transfer.
Walmart, which launched its “Spark Driver” delivery program in 2018, said the Department of Consumer Affairs never gave it a “fair opportunity” to make its claims during the investigation.
“The CFPB’s rushed lawsuit is riddled with factual errors and includes exaggerations and blatant misstatements about established legal principles,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement. We will vigorously defend the case in a court that respects different and legitimate legal obligations.” legal procedure. ”
Monday’s lawsuit comes after the Consumer Affairs Bureau sued the operators of payment provider Zelle, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo for “failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud.” It happened a few days later.
