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“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of over one million delivery drivers,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a press release. “Companies cannot force workers to pay through accounts that drain their earnings with frivolous fees.”
The lawsuit alleges that, beginning in 2021, Walmart and Branch opened branch accounts for more than one million drivers on the Spark driver program, Walmart’s platform. The gig economy To accept and schedule workers “The Last Mile” delivery, and then the driver’s salary without depositing it into these accounts Their consent
The company allegedly told drivers they would be fired if they did not want to use branch accounts and misled drivers about when they could access their earnings. When drivers used the platform, they reportedly faced multiple delays or fees if they needed to transfer money to another account, resulting in more than $10 million in “junk fees.” The damage was done.
The CFPB accused the branch of failing to investigate alleged errors, failing to provide certain disclosures, failing to maintain records, failing to act on stop payment requests and unlawfully charging consumers with the law. demanded to waive their rights under
The lawsuit is the latest in a number of actions by the CFPB. has taken Against companies abusing the financial accounts of consumers and workers. Bureau Sued first Comerica Bank is accused of failing to administer federal benefits programs and charging illegal fees on prepaid debit cards.
Most recently, the CFPB Filed a complaint Also against the operator of the Zelle payments network JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America And Wells Fargo – Alleging that firms failed to properly investigate fraud complaints or compensate victims. The lawsuit claims Zelle has lost more than $870 million to consumers since its launch in 2017.
Representatives for Walmart and Branch Messenger did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.