Mary Watson’s class action suit against the way credit card companies write their agreements with merchants has been certified by the B.C. Supreme Court. Ms. Watson is a long-time furniture retailer in Vancouver. She says that Visa, MasterCard and the major banks are engaged in a “civil conspiracy” against merchants. They do that by forcing retailers to pay higher transaction fees on premium cards, while preventing them from charging extra to cover the cost. Watson says this amounts to the card companies and banks improperly interfering with her business It is a well known complaint among business people. It has been fought by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and publicly criticized by the Federal Competition Bureau. Watson says in her suit that it forces retailers to raise prices across the board to cover the cost of premium fees. The lost amount is said to be about $5 billion a year. Watson seeks to recover the fees that credit card companies and banks have “collected illegally.” It is a case which South Bayview area merchants may wish to watch closely.
