A total of 413 members of the Desjardins caisses took advantage of the possibility to opt out of the out-of-court settlement reached in the context of class action filed after the massive data theft of which the institution was the victim in 2019, according to information acquired by Radio-Canada.
During the hearing held in May at the Quebec City courthouse to approve the agreement, 23 members even filed written objections.
When she learned a few months ago that such an agreement had expired, Lynne Bouchard had to think about whether or not she accepted the financial institution’s offer.
Under the terms of the agreement, Desjardins members can claim an amount in the event of lost time associated with the leakage of personal information, based on an hourly rate of $ 18 up to a maximum of $ 90 and/or an amount that can be up to $ 1,000 in the event of identity theft.
The agreement provides for the payment of a maximum total amount of $ 200 million.
My husband and I decided not to include ourselves in the action class, Ms. Bouchard. We don’t want to lose the right to sue Desjardins if something goes wrong in the future.
” It never occurred to me to sign a receipt with Desjardins. “
In June 2019, the management of Desjardins Group announced publicly that it had been the subject of a massive data leak from its members and customers, organized by a malicious employee, who had already left the institution. A credit tracking service has been offered for five years to millions of members at the expense of Desjardins.
First payments in 2023
As one of the lawyers who filed the class action, Jérémie Longpré, of the firm Kugler Kandestin, explained, an appeals process will be implemented once the Superior Court approves the agreement.
If the agreement is approved by the judge, there will be an explanatory notice sent first to members via Accès D then in writing and then to the newspapers within 13 weeks, to avoid if possible clogging the system. . of the complaintexplained Me Longpré.
RicePoint was appointed as administrator of the claims, at Desjardins ’expense.
At the end of 13 weeks, members will have six months to claim the amount associated with the loss of time and payment will be made at the end of six months, Me Longpré determined. For identity theft compensation, members will have up to three years to claim, with an expected payment each year.
Complaint forms can be completed online and relevant documents can be uploaded.
We remain extremely pleased with the agreement that will allow more people to have compensationassured Me Longpré.
Similar story on the institutional side. Desjardins is pleased that a class action settlement agreement has been reachedthe speaker Jean-Benoît Turcotti wrote to us. Some people have exercised their right to opt out of the settlement agreement, which they have the right to do.
The Sûreté du Québec’s investigation into this case, which began in June 2019, deals with possible offenses of identity theft, trafficking in identifying information, fraud in excess of $ 5,000 and offenses for the benefit of a criminal organization.
It was a suspicious transaction that took place in Laval in December 2018 that aroused Desjardins ’suspicions. The institution then filed a complaint with the Service de police de Laval (SPL).
No cases have yet been filed against the leaker (s).
Source: Radio-Canada
