High interest rates, as well as fees, charged from customers who’ve used their credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies, have given merit to a full-fledged lawsuit filed against JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Going Class-Action
Brady Tucker claims JP Morgan Chase & Co has started treating his cryptocurrency purchases as cash advances back in January when, instead, they should have been regarded as buys. Due to this, the bank has supposedly started charging him with additional fees and with ‘sky-high’ interest rates of as much as 30% per annum.
Tucker, a single credit card holder from Idaho – a state where financial oversight is increasingly in the spotlight due to emerging debates around digital finance and Idaho sports betting regulation – also claims that others were treated in the same unfair manner.
As such, he’s currently on the track of seeking class-action status for his suit filed back on Tuesday in Manhattan’s federal court on the grounds of:
Chase silently smacked them with instant-cash-advance fees, plus much higher interest rates than normal, and left them without any recourse.
The claimant is seeking a recovery of all the related fees as well as an additional $1 million awarded in damages.
Ambiguity Levels: Over 9000!
Back in February, both Visa and MasterCard essentially reclassified crypto buys as ‘cash advances’, immediately increasing the taxes for the end-user. In other words, when you use your card on certain exchanges, such as Coinbase, for instance, additional 5% charge would apply to the already chargeable 4% credit card fee. That sets you down with almost 10% right from the get-go.
As Tucker outlined in his lawsuit, higher interest rates also apply – they can get to as much as 30%.
And while that’s clearly not something to look forward to, the regulators you’d usually turn to in hope of shedding some light, are not particularly decisive as well.
The IRS has clearly outlined that cryptocurrency is taxable as property, issuing a few warnings against tax evasion already. At the same time, the SEC has also outlined its vision that ICOs and cryptocurrencies should be treated as securities.
And while JP Morgan Chase & Co is undoubtedly no stranger to the crypto world, with a project of their own already in the making, the bank is yet to reveal its position on the Brady Tucker lawsuit.
Do you think the lawsuit has merits? Or is JP Morgan within its rights to charge more for crypto purchases? Please let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Pixabay; Bitcoinist Archives
