Debit Card Company Sued for Anti-Deaf Discrimination

Thursday, August 09, 2012
AccountNow, a California-based debit card company, is being sued by a deaf man who claims the company insisted he communicate with their customer service representatives by phone.
 
Richard Halavais, who cannot hear because of a stroke, tried numerous times over a period of two months to get AccountNow to communicate with him by email so he could resolve problems with his prepaid debit card, through which he receives his disability funds.
 
Things got so bad that Halavais, who was in a rehab center, had to hire an attorney to get AccountNow’s attention, and even then, he had trouble accessing his money to pay for his prescriptions.
 
In July, Halavais was finally able to use his debit card. By then, the delays had cost him nearly $12,000 in extra expenses because he hadn’t been able to leave the rehab facility as scheduled.
 
Although he now has access to his funds, Halavais is suing, claiming AccountNow was responsible for a “systematic pattern of discrimination,” unfair business practices, and civil rights violations.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
 
To Learn More:
It's Like Talking to a Deaf Man . . . (by Matt Reynolds, Courthouse News)
Halavais v. AccountNow Inc. (U.S. District Court) (pdf)
 

  

Comments

john scherer 11 years ago
i have the same problem add me to the suit i am also disabled and notified them i was! they gave me a fax number over the phone to send my id my social and my address with billing water gas something on it. so i did the next day they email me and say to fax it to a different number i called 2 times they said to speak to customer service and put me on hold for up to 30 minutes and i get a answering machine so wile i was waiting i looked up the fax number i faxed the papers to and it turns out it is there banks fax they lied to me and now want me to fax it again i email them with the number i faxed it to and told them i googled it and its there number sent them emails saying i will go to there office with the police to get my check they email me again and only say to call them on a phone that i cant call because i am vacationing in mexico with my girl friend who has to feed me and take care of me since i have no money they have it. and they refuse to contact me by email now they say i need to call to get a dispute form? i am not disputing anything i want my money and thats it and why when i already talked to them that they did not take care of the form then? i got the phone records they are no good liars thiefs and need to be jailed not only sued
Jon 11 years ago
i was discriminated from getting my driver license because of my deafness for the last 12 years. please sign my petition!!!! http://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-state-department-of-motor-vehicle-force-nys-dmv-to-issue-jonathan-bock-a-driver-license-without-scrutiny thank you!

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