Class action suits have been settled for clients of the Desjardins banks for clients whose private information or identity was stolen.
Desjardins has several outlets in Ontario including one in Espanola.
On June 20, 2019, Desjardins acknowledged the breach of 2.9 million of its members, including personal and banking information.
The settlement agreement was reached on February 7th and passed the pre-approval stage at the Superior Court of Quebec.
However, legal counsel says there are still several steps before the claims process can begin.
The settlement amount of over $200-million dollars is to be paid out to individual clients who filed a claim with further details available on our websites.
WWW: Full details are available at https://www.desjardinssettlement.com/
How much is the settlement?
The settlement agreement submitted to the Superior Court of Quebec for approval allows for a maximum amount of $200,852,500 to be paid out as individual recovery to eligible individuals who file a claim.
Who can make a claim under the settlement agreement?
All individuals affected by the privacy breach announced by Desjardins on June 20, 2019, are included in the settlement agreement, namely:
Current and former Desjardins’ banking members
Current and former clients with a credit card or in-store financing
Anyone who received a letter informing them of the situation
What kind of claims can be made?
You can file two types of claims under the settlement agreement:
If you were impacted by the situation announced in June 2019, you can claim up to $90.
If your identity was stolen after January 1, 2017, you can claim up to $1,000.
Should you contact Desjardins to submit a claim now?
No. The settlement agreement needs to be approved by the Superior Court of Quebec before any claims can be submitted. Once the court approves the settlement, eligible individuals will be informed through notices. The notices will state that the settlement agreement has taken effect and the claims period is open. At that point, eligible individuals can file their claim with RicePoint, the independent administrator (not Desjardins).
Desjardins Identity Protection
Reimbursement: Members and clients may be reimbursed up to $50,000 for expenses they incur to recover their identities, such as notary or attorney’s fees and lost wages.
Monitoring: Members and clients can sign up for five years of Equifax credit monitoring free of charge. This service includes daily access to credit scores on Equifax’s website, as well as credit report monitoring and alerts of key changes.
Former banking members, former clients with a credit card or in-store financing, and anyone who received a letter informing them of the situation can also sign up for the Equifax service for free, which includes credit report monitoring, identity theft assistance and insurance to cover some expenses.
Eligible individuals can request their activation code for the Equifax credit monitoring paid for by Desjardins by visiting the site. The deadline is December 31, 2023.