$66 Million Unclaimed in Arco Debit Card Fees Class ActionSettlement

Millions of dollars in the groundbreaking Arco debit card settlement went unclaimed by Class Members who were charged an unexpected $0.35 fee at gas pumps in Oregon between 2011 and 2013.

Arco, along with BP, was accused of hiding a debit card fee in violation of state law in a class action lawsuit. The complaint alleged that Arco gas stations advertised a certain “cash price” outside at the gas pumps, then slapped consumers with a fee when they went inside to pay.

An Oregon jury found the gas companies had crossed Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act and hit the companies with a $409 million verdict in 2014. BP submitted several appeals to the massive verdict and ultimately the parties agreed to settle.

Class Members started seeing the first of two Arco debit card settlement checks in 2020. The first check was for $91.94 and the next one is expected to be the same.

However, the company in charge of locating Class Members using debit card transaction records reported that it could only find 1.7 million of them. Fortunately, for consumer advocates, the remaining settlement fund will not revert back to the defendants.

Under a 2015 state law, settlement funds in the state of Oregon cannot go back to defendants in the class action lawsuit. In fact, the 2015 law was prompted by this very case, according to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.

“This new law prevents these funds from being returned to the wrongdoing multinational corporation,” Rosenblum said in an emailed statement to Oregon Public Broadcasting. “Instead, they will remain here and do more general good for consumers in Oregon.”

Where will the remaining Arco debit card settlement funds go?

Reportedly, the remaining $66 million will be split amongst public interest groups, including a legal aid fund for those who cannot afford legal services and a consumer watchdog group, Oregon Consumer Justice.

The University of Oregon also recently announced that it had secured funds for consumer protection research – a minimum of $3 million that will be doled out to researchers over 10 years.

Did you get an Arco debit card settlement check? Tell us about it in the comment section below!

The plaintiffs are represented by David F. Sugerman of David F. Sugerman Attorney PC and Tim Alan Quenelle of Tim Quenelle PC.

The Arco, AmPm Debit Card Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Steven Scharfstein v. BP West Coast Products LLC, Case No. 1112-17046, in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon, County of Multnomah.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Trial Set for Arco Am-Pm Debit Card Fee Class Action
• Settlement Reached in Arco, AmPm Debit Card Fee Class Action Lawsuit
• Hidden Fees Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
• Credit and Debit Card Receipt Privacy Lawsuit Investigation