Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 UNDERTAKING Pursuant to Section 154 of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act THIS UNDERTAKING is made with an effective date of June 5 , 202 3 Between Spring Financial Inc. (“ The Respondent”) And The Director of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority of British Columbia (the “Director ” ) WHEREAS: A. Having regards to deceptive acts or practices within the meaning of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”) ; B. For the purposes of this Undertaking, “representation” has the same meaning as defined under section 4(1) of the Act; C. Between April 8, 2016 , and March 12, 2021 , inclusive [ hereinafter referred to as “the t ime p eriod”] , the Respondent did execute credit agreements with borrowers. The Respondent refers to these credit agreements as Secured Savings Loans [“SSL”] with borrowers; D. Consumer Protection received a large volume of borrower complaints about the SSL product offered by the Respondent. This prompted an inspect ion by Consumer Protection BC into the Respondent’s compliance with the Act. E. The results of the inspection brought forward an allegation by the Inspector that the Respondent contravened the Act , specifically: [1] The Respondent contravened section 5(1) of the Act in representations it made to borrowers when offering , negotiating, and/or executing SSL credit agreements It is alleged these representations were deceptive acts , as defined under section 4 of the Act. F. The finding of the inspection and the allegation arising have been reported to the Director. G. The Director is prepared to terminate the inspection and any subsequent proceedings resulting from the allegation against the Respondent upon acceptance of this Unde rtaking Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 NOW THEREFORE the Respondent undertakes, acknowledges, and agrees with the Director: [1] The Respondent will within 30 days of executing this Undertaking provide Consumer Protection BC with a lis ting of all borrowers who entered a SSL credit agreement during the time period. The list must include: a. the borrower’s name ; b. the borrower’s last known email address [2] Using the list developed in paragraph 1 and excluding those borrowers on the list that com pleted the entire terms of the SSL credit agreement or those borrowers who made no payments towards a SSL credit agreement, the Respondent will , within 30 days of preparing the list, contact borrowers on the list that to advise they may be entitled to a refund and that the borrower should make a request directly to the Respondent. The email sent by the Respondent to borrowers will use the exact language as it appears in Appendix 1. [3] For any borrower that entered into a SSL credit agreement with the Respondent during the t ime p eriod, the Respondent will receive, intake and document requests from a borrower to cancel the SSL credit agreement and receive a refund of all monies paid under the terms of the SSL credit agreem ent. [4] For any borrower described in paragraph 1, the Respondent will within 30 days of receiving the request, process and complete any necessary assessment to reach a decision to cancel and /or provide a refund to the borrower. I f the R esponden t requires additional time to administer a claim, within 14 days of when the ref und should have been processed (i.e. 30 days from when the claim was received) provide Consumer Protection BC with an antici pated timeline. [5] For any borrower that the Respondent determines is permitted to cancel a SSL credit agreement and /or receive a refund, the Respondent will within 30 days of making the determination provide the borrower with written notification of its determination and cancel the SSL credit agreement and provide the borrower with a full refu n d by electronic transfer of funds (“EFT”), cheque , or other means approved by the Director. In cancelling the SSL credit agreement and providing the refund, the Respondent acknowledges the borrower has no obligations to the Respondent formed under the terms of the SSL credit agreement. [6] For any borrower that the Respondent determines is not permitted to cancel a SSL credit agreement and /or receive a refund, the Respondent will within 30 days of making the determination provide Consumer Protection BC with written notification of its determ ination [7] The Respondent will immediately respond to requests made by Consumer Protection BC in follow up to any rejections/denials of borrower’s claims made by the Respo n dent, including Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 but not limited to, providing a list of rejected / denied borrowers’ names and email add r esses and the reason for the rejection/denial [8] For any refund that is rejected by the Respondent and consequently disputed by Consumer Protection BC, a report to the Director will be provided to initiate a hearing. The hear ing process will provide the Respondent with an opportunity to be heard and will be adjudicated by Consumer Protection BC. The Respondent recognizes the significance of maintaining records with the borrowers, including credit agreements, written correspond ence , and telephone call recordings for hearing purposes. [9] Separate and apart from any borrower that may be captured under paragraph 5 of this Undertaking, by June 30, 2023 , the Respondent will cancel SSL credit agreements and provide full refunds to the borrowers listed in Appendix 2 of this Undertaking. These refunds are to be made by electronic transfer of funds (“EFT”), cheque, or other means approved by the Director. The Respondent must prov ide Consumer Protection BC with a written accounting of these refunds by July 15 , 2023 , and perform any follow up actions as required by the Director to continue attempts to provide the refunds to the borrower should these refunds not happen by July 15 , 20 23 . At an y time, the Director may require the Respondent demonstrate actions being taken to provide refunds to borrowers In cancelling the SSL credit agreement and providing the refund, the Respondent acknowledges the borrower has no obligations to the Respondent formed under the terms of the SSL credit agreement [10] For any refund owed to a borrower(s) listed in Appendix 2 of this Undertaking that the Respondent satisfactorily demonstrate s to the Director could not be completed by J uly 15, 2023 , and after carrying out further satisfactory attempts as required by the Director could not be completed by December 1, 2023, the Respondent will by December 15, 2023 , pay the non - refunded amount to Consumer Protection BC . The non - refunded amount will be held by Consumer Protection BC for a period of six months, during which time Consumer Protection BC may use the non - refunded amount to refund a borrower listed in Appendix 2 that has not already received a refund. The form, process, adjudication, and refund will be solely at the discretion of Consumer Protection BC. Any amounts remaining at the end of the six - month period will be pai d by Consumer Protection BC to the Consumer Advancement Fund [11] On December 1 , 20 2 3 , the Respondent will p rovide Consumer Protection BC with an up - to - date accounting of all refunds the Respondent has made for borrowers under paragraph 5 of this Undertaking. The accounting must include : a. borrower’s name , phone number, address, email address; b. loan identifier and date ; c. amount of the refund; d. date of borrower request to cancel SSL loan agreement and/or receive a refund; e. the date of the cancellation and/or refund; f. the method of the repayment Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 [12] On May 30 , 2024 , the Respondent will p rovide Consumer Protection BC with an up - to - date accounting of all refunds the Respondent has made for borrowers under paragraph 5 of this Undertaking between the dates of December 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024 inclusive . The accounting must include: a. borrower’s name, phone number, address, email address; b. loan identifier and date ; c. amount of the refund; d. date of borrower request to cancel SSL loan agreement and/or receive a refund; e. the date of the cancellation and/or refund; f. the method of the repayment. [13] The Respondent will make payment into the Consumer Advancement Fund in the amount of $ 15,000.00 within 14 days of this Undertaking being executed [14] The Respondent will reimburse Consumer Protection BC partial inspection costs in the amount of $3 ,160. 71 within 14 days of this Undertaking being executed [15] This Undertaking is binding on the Respondent until such time as it is either terminated in writing by the Director or terminated by order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia [16] In addition to rendering the Respondent liable to further penalties and proceed ings as provided for under the Act, it is an offence under the Act to fail to comply with any part of this undertaking that has not been previously terminated. [17] Any communication with the Director in connection with this Undertaking shall be made to the fo llowing: Shahid Noorani , Vice President Consumer Protection BC 200 – 4946 Canada Way Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 4H7 Unless another address for delivery is given to the other party, in writing, by either the Director or the Respondent. DATED this ___________________ day of June 20 2 3 _________________________________________________ Signature Shahid Noorani , Vice President Consumer Protection BC 12 Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 _________________________________________________ Duly Authorized signatory of Spring Financial Inc. Sent via email to: esale@osler.ca CC: abhishaek.rawal@springfinancial.ca Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 APPENDIX 1 Dear [First Name Last Name], You may have had one of Spring Financial’s products, the secured savings loan (SSL) between the years 2016 and 2021. Spring Financial and Consumer Protection BC have reached an agreement whereby Spring Financial will provide a refund of the cash paid that has not already been refunded t o eligible borrowers. If you believe you may be eligible for a refund you can submit your claim by clicking this link and completing the required form: https://www.springfinancial.ca/ssleligibility?code=ZH0UNIU58 TAV3GGO96EN If you would like to submit a claim please do so before the deadline of March 31 , 2024 Thank you. Spring Financial Undertaking between the Director of Consumer Protection BC and Spring Financial Inc. June 202 3 Appendix 2 Appendix 2 sent as an Excel attachment by email alongside undertaking