Decision summary: Venue Financial Centres fined $8,500 and ordered to give refunds

Posted in All decision summaries, Payday lending on 2024-04-15

Consumer Protection BC has issued a compliance order and administrative penalties against Cashco Venue (dba Venue Financial Centres), a payday lender with several locations in BC, for:      

  • Issuing a new payday loan to borrowers who already had a payday loan, contrary to section 112.08 (1) of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA), an administrative penalty of $5,000
  • Failing to retain receipts given to borrowers who repaid loans, contrary to section 11 of the Payday Loans Regulation, an administrative penalty of $3,500

Read the compliance order, administrative penalty and the full reasons for the decision.

The business has been ordered to refund fees charged above the principal amount to specific borrowers and reimburse Consumer Protection BC for partial inspection costs in the amount of $1,000 within 30 days.

By law, the business has 30 days to request a reconsideration of the decision.

All money received from administrative penalties is deposited into the Consumer Advancement Fund (as required by section 169 of the BPCPA).

About Consumer Protection BC

Consumer Protection BC is a not-for-profit regulator responsible for overseeing certain industries and specific consumer transactions in the province. Their mandate is to license and inspect their regulated businesses, respond to consumer inquiries, investigate alleged violations of consumer protection laws, and classify all general release motion pictures. 

For more information about Consumer Protection BC, to read their recent enforcement actions, and to learn about  their inspection and complaint-handling processes, please visit their website at  www.consumerprotectionbc.ca. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or read their blog for valuable consumer tips and resources.