Bannister Law files class action against Tyro on behalf of SMEs
A group of small businesses have filed a class action against Tyro Payments, seeking compensation for losses incurred during a prolonged outage.
Small business owners have united in a class action against Tyro Payments Limited to seek compensation for losses incurred during an outage of EFTPOS card terminals earlier this year.
Sydney-based firm Bannister Law commenced the class action in the Federal Court of Australia on behalf of businesses, with the first case management hearing scheduled for November 19.
The class action, which is funded by Court House Capital, comes after a prolonged outage to Tyro’s EFTPOS facility in January prevented some businesses from accepting non-cash payments for up to four weeks.
At that time, Bannister Law announced it was investigating the possibility of a class action suit.
In a statement today, Bannister Law confirmed the class action will allege that Tyro breached the Australia Consumer Law (ACL) by making misleading representations through its website and communications with potential customers about the reliability of its EFTPOS terminals and support services.
The class action also alleges that Tyro breached a number of consumer promises contained in the ACL, related to its EFTPOS terminals and services and provisions of its agreement with customers.
A Tyro spokesperson acknowledged the class action in a statement, saying a remediation program was set up to offer customers financial compensation if they suffered losses as a result of the outage.
“Tyro’s remediation program has seen it actively engage with all impacted merchants (via its usual merchant communications portal, email, SMS and in some cases direct mail) inviting them to register with Tyro if they claimed to have suffered financial loss,” the spokesperson wrote.
Tyro encourages any merchant affected by the outage to register for the remediation program, which the business says will bring about a “swifter” resolution compared to any class action.
Despite Tyro’s remediation program, Bannister Law claims that many customers who participated in the program didn’t receive adequate compensation in response to their claims.
Lawyers leading the class action will argue in the Federal Court that Tyro’s customers should receive satisfactory compensation for loss of profits and increased costs from buying replacement EFTPOS terminals and payment processing services.
Tyro Payments Limited is an ASX-listed fintech that was founded in Australia in 2003.
While the business is widely known for its EFTPOS terminals, it also offers a range of business banking and e-commerce payment products.
King & Wood Mallesons will defend Tyro against the class action in the Federal Court.
