KNOXVILLE – Three East Tennessee attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit against Pilot Flying J, accusing the nation’s largest truck stop operator of placing “excessive” holds on customer credit cards used to purchase fuel at the pump.

Two 25-page complaints, filed Thursday in Jefferson County and Sevier County circuit courts, say the holds are placed without the customer’s knowledge or consent, and are “routinely significantly greater than the total cost of the fuel actually purchased.”

For some passenger drivers the holds can be as much as $100, and for some semi-truck operators they can be as high as $500, the lawsuit states.

The holds prevent cardholders from tapping any remaining credit for other purchases. The lawsuit also suggests that Pilot receives some sort of “economic benefit” from the holds including extra financial security from the credit transaction but at the unnecessary expense of the customer.

Anne LeZotte, communications manager for Pilot Flying J, said: “At this time, Pilot Flying J has not received documentation of the lawsuit. We will review the complaint prior to making any comments.”

The lawsuit states that the company “knowingly, affirmatively, and actively concealed the true nature, quality and character” of fuel purchase transactions.

“Pilot’s acts were done wantonly, maliciously, oppressively, deliberately, with intent to defraud, and in reckless disregard of Plaintiff and Class members’ rights and the representation that Pilot made to them, in order to enrich Pilot,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of several East Tennessee residents by Knoxville-based attorneys Gordon Ball and Lance Baker, and Thomas Jessee out of Johnson City.

“It’s a very straight forward case and I don’t think (Pilot) will deny that they do this,” Ball said.

Ball added that he expects to file a “nationwide” lawsuit in federal court in the coming days and he will add more plaintiffs.

He declined to comment further.

The complaints filed so far challenge “Pilot’s uniform practice of placing undisclosed and excessive credit holds on customer’s Visa and MasterCard credit card accounts during pay-at-the-pump transactions.”

The buyer’s receive “nothing of even nominal value for the additional consideration seized by Pilot without their knowledge” . . . and the holds can cause the buyer damage, including the “unsuspecting and disproportionate loss of use of their credit for several days,” according to the complaint.

In addition, the lawsuit says Pilot has “ample opportunity” to tell customers about the practice but fails to do so.

It says fuel pumps are typically “littered with signs, stickers and video screens warning customers to turn off their engines, notifying customers of the types of payment cards accepted and advertising all manner of Pilot products.”

But, “not a single warning or notice is provided to customers that once they swipe their credit card, an excessive hold will be placed on their account not only in an amount greatly exceeding the amount of their actual purchase, but even if they fail to pump a single gallon of fuel.”

The lawsuit names Jefferson County resident Laurie Anderson and Sevier County resident Chase Mosely as the plaintiffs.

Anderson purchased $23.58 in fuel on Feb. 26 at a Pilot store on Roy Messer Highway in White Pine. Mosely bought $47.99 at the Pilot pump on Feb. 25 on Winfield Dunn Parkway in Sevier County.

The complaints say the two were “prevented from having the use of such credit until days later.”

The lawsuits seek an unspecified amount of damage and legal fees. The lawsuits also ask Pilot Flying J to discontinue the practice of placing holds on credit card purchases at fuel pumps.

This lawsuit is unrelated to the diesel fuel rebate scam that has dammed the company for the last several years, and led to multiple criminal indictments of top ranking officials.

(© 2016 WBIR)