Hercules Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Laundry Card Misrepresentations

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A proposed class action looks to end Hercules, Inc.’s alleged practice of misrepresenting the value of its reloadable cash cards for laundry machines.

The nine-page case alleges that although Hercules represents that a consumer should treat the laundry card “as cash,” the defendant’s cards are only useable with a small number of the company’s machines limited to a single residential building. 

Moreover, the case claims the pre-set card refill amounts, which are limited to $10, $25, $50 and $75, coupled with the fees the defendant charges to use washers and dryers, which include $2.20, $2.60, $2.75 and $3.75, depending on the size of the machine, means it’s “essentially guaranteed that the balance of a laundry card will never reach zero.” 

Nevertheless, Hercules’s policy that it will refund the balance of a card at the user’s request is a sham, according to the case. Hercules requires the payment of a $5 processing and handling fee in order for a user to receive their requested refund, the lawsuit states.

“Thus, once the consumer has a balance on her Laundry Card below that of the washer or dryer fee amount, Defendant requires the consumer to pay Defendant more than the value of the balance in order to receive their refund,” the complaint says. “The possible refill amounts are not random. They are calculated to always produce a remainder which Defendant then keeps.” 

As a result of Hercules’s refund policy, as well as the relatively few machines the cards can be used with, New Yorkers are often left with “countless” laundry cards with remaining balances of a few dollars each that are “impossible to use,” the lawsuit alleges. 

“Defendant did not disclose these practices to Plaintiff and the putative class,” per the complaint. 

While Hercules touts itself as “the largest family-operated laundry room outsource provider in the nation,” social media is replete with complaints about the practices alleged by the plaintiff, the lawsuit says. The suit claims that with “tens of millions” of laundry cards sold nationwide, Hercules has acquired “at least tens of millions of dollars in revenue to which it is not entitled.” 

The lawsuit looks to represent all individuals in the United States, including a subclass of New Yorkers, who possess laundry cards that are maintained by Hercules, Inc.

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