Although perhaps not a surprising result in terms of constitutional law, in a proposed class action (Jiang v. Peoples Trust Company) the B.C. Supreme Court has held that general purpose prepaid cards issued by federally-regulated financial institutions are subject to the provisions of the B.C. Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act that deal with expiry and permissible fees, among other matters. The decision notes that this is contrary to administrative interpretation that had been published by the agency charged with administration of the Act. The certification application was, however, dismissed based principally on problems with the class definition. The lower courts in B.C. are split on whether and how a class can be defined for purposes of claims by "consumers" since the key definitional issue is their purpose for purchasing. Some courts characterize this as a subjective issue and impermissible in a class definition; others have considered such definitions to be based on objective characteristics and permissible.
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