Pilot Travel Center Faces Credit Card ‘Hold’ Class Action Lawsuits

Pilot Travel Center faces two potential class action lawsuits stemming over allegations that the gas and convenient store chain engages in a credit card scheme by placing authorization “holds” on fuel purchases that are significantly greater than the actual cost.

Lead plaintiffs Laurie Anderson and Chase Mosely both of Tennessee filed separate, but nearly identical Pilot Flying J class action lawsuits yesterday, claiming that Pilot intentionally conceals its credit card “holds” from paying customers.

Anderson and Mosely say they used a “pay-at-the-pump” machine to purchase gas at different Tennessee Pilot Travel Center locations only to discover that the company placed a hold on their credit card that caused a portion of the plaintiffs’ credit line to be artificially frozen for several days after.

The Pilot class action lawsuit states that while a typical credit card hold is $75 for a passenger vehicle, Pilot routinely holds onto $500 for semi-truck customers who who use their stations to fill-up.

According to the lawsuit, Pilot does not warn its customers of the impending holds on their credit cards despite the ample opportunity to do so. The plaintiffs point to the actual fuel pumps which are “littered” with signs, stickers and video screens which advertise various products. They believe Pilot could have used those machines to inform customers of its “hold” practices, but they do not.

“Little does the average customer know, however, that behind the scenes, as he or she stares at the ‘authorizing’ message on the card-reader on the pay-at-the-pump machine, computers are already imposing a ‘block’ or a ‘hold’ on their credit accounts – reserving a substantially larger portion of their available credit card balances than necessary to complete their fuel purchases,” the Pilot class action lawsuit states.

Anderson and Mosely accuse Pilot of fraudulent concealment stating that the gas station chain has a duty to inform customers of its credit card hold policy because the details are only known to them. The plaintiffs also bring claims of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

If approved, Anderson seeks to represent a Class of Tennessee Pilot Flying J customers who purchased fuel using a Visa or MasterCard who were not informed that Pilot would require a preauthorization hold in an amount greater than the actual purchase of fuel. Mosely also wants to represent a Class of Tennessee residents who used an American Express credit card at Tennessee Pilot locations.

Both Anderson and Mosely are represented by Gordon Ball of Gordon Ball, PLLC; Thomas C. Jessee of Jessee & Jessee; and Lance K. Baker of The Baker Law Firm.

The Pilot Flying J Excessive Credit Card Holds Class Action Lawsuits are Laurie Anderson, et al. v. Pilot Corporation, et al., Case No. 24663 in the Circuit Court for Jefferson County, Tennessee and Chase Mosely, et al. v. Pilot Corporation, et al., Case No. 16-cv-137 in the Circuity Court for Sevier County, Tennessee.