Posts Tagged ‘ Overdraft fees ’

Overdraft Fee Irony: Bank Causes Overdraft, Then Charges for it

July 29th, 2010. By Hunter West

File this one under “WTF”.

Devon Donovan was just a kid with some cash and a savings account. Cash from hours worked as a lifeguard, when she could have been swimming. Hours working as a babysitter, when she could have been hanging out with her friends. When she was given money for her birthday and at Christmas, she put it away to save towards school trips.

In other words, Devon was a kid who got it right. She didn’t spend wildly. She saved her money. And when she went off to college, she kept what she assumed was a couple of hundred bucks or so in that account to save for a rainy day.

That’s what savings accounts are for.

Instead, a bank unjustly robbed her of her savings and the message was clear: we don’t care about your laudable savings habits, we couldn’t give a flying fig that you’re a kid with the right idea and we couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge such good behavior.

Legally, Citizens Bank was in the clear. But morally, is it right? Is it fair for any bank to do what Citizens Bank did to a citizen who deserved better?

Citizens Bank decided, starting in 2007, that it would begin charging a monthly fee of $5 for balances under $500. The notification, as it turned out, was a small line at the bottom of a statement from November 21^st, 2006 referring to the new policy taking effect on January 8^th of the New Year.

There were also new limits on monthly transactions and fees for what were described as ‘excessive transactions.’

Obviously, Devon did not see the innocuous notification on her bank statement. Besides, she Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Banking, Citizens Bank, Overdraft fees
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 45344 Comments »2010-07-29+18%3A07%3A39Hunter+West

Week Adjourned: 2.5.10

February 5th, 2010. By LucyC

Top Class Actions

Toyota: “Moving Forward” Alright. This week is really the week of the Toyota class action. I have to be honest—I’ve lost count as to the number of lawsuits that have been filed, but I did see a report today that put the number at 29, and counting. That may just be some kind of world record.

At the heart of the issue is the now infamous sticking gas pedals. (It puts a whole new spin on the expression ‘give it some gas’—and certainly creates a little irony for Toyota’s tagline: moving forward.)

Of course, it’s not really funny, given that hundreds if not thousands or possibly millions of people will be at the very least inconvenienced by the recalls, now totalling some eight million cars—but it will also affect people’s livelihoods, and at worst there are reports of injuries.

In the highly unlikely event you’ve not heard about this issue, you can find more out all the recalls here.

Overdoing the Overdraft thing. Again. Yet another overdraft fees lawsuit was filed this week, this time the accused party is Fifth Third Bank. The lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit allege that they were illegally charged overdraft fees for purchases made on the ATM and debit cards, even when they had enough funds in their accounts to pay Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, British Petroleum, Fifth Third Bank, Hann Construction, Overdraft fees, Toyota, toyota recall
Posted in Week Adjourned | 26401 Comment »Week+Adjourned%3A+2.5.102010-02-05+22%3A55%3A08LucyC

Week Adjourned: 1.29.10

January 29th, 2010. By LucyC

Top Class Actions

Citizen of your Wallet? It seems that no amount of bad PR or more importantly, federal regulations, are effective deterrents against bad business practices by banks. This week, a potential class action lawsuit was filed against Citizens Bank alleging that customers have been unfairly charged overdraft fees. Sound familiar? It should. This is just one in a spate of similar lawsuits involving overdraft fees—including a class action against Bank Atlantic, in November 2009.

In this particular lawsuit, Citizens Bank could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars it allegedly unlawfully charged its customers by manipulating debit transaction postings to generate overdraft fees. In other words, CB seemingly put its customers into debt deliberately so it could charge overdraft fees. You do that to enough customers and presto—you’re rich—possibly even rich enough to afford those six figure senior management bonuses.

And the kicker? The fees were imposed under the guise of an ‘overdraft protection plan’ that the lawsuit alleges customers were not allowed to opt out of. I guess the epitaph to this could be—they don’t have your back—they have your wallet.

Top Settlements

If you Leave me Now, You’ll Pay an Early Termination Fee… (ok, so I’m not a lyricist) Keeping on the theme of Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: ATT, Bank Atlantic, Citizens Bank, Early Termination Fees, Overdraft fees, Overtime Pay, Staples
Posted in Week Adjourned | 25751 Comment »Week+Adjourned%3A+1.29.102010-01-30+00%3A01%3A56LucyC

Debit Card Overdraft Fees – An Update

November 30th, 2009. By LucyC

atm machine Debit Card Overdraft Fees An Update First the good news—maybe—on November 12, the Federal Reserve announced that new rules governing the seemingly rampant application of overdraft fees linked to debit card use would be initiated. Now the bad news—maybe—the rules don’t come into effect until next summer—July 1^st, 2010 apparently.

The development of these rules is a direct result of loud consumer reaction to the banks’ deceptive and abusive consumer lending practices.

Of course the argument that the rules will provide any real benefit at all has just begun. More on that in a minute.

So what protection will the new rules offer you? Here’s the scoop—straight from the Federal Reserve website:

The final rules would “…prohibit financial institutions from charging consumers fees for paying overdrafts on automated teller machine (ATM) and one-time debit card transactions, unless a consumer consents, or opts in, to the overdraft service for those types of transactions.

Before opting in, the consumer must be provided a notice that explains the financial institution’s Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Banks, Debit Cards, Overdraft fees
Posted in Financial | 2049No Comments »Debit+Card+Overdraft+Fees+-+An+Update2009-11-30+22%3A49%3A07LucyC

4 Fees To Spoil Your Christmas

November 11th, 2009. By Kristine B

aka, How the Financial Grinches Stole Christmas…

thegrinchfrombook2 4 Fees To Spoil Your Christmas Christmas is just around the corner. How do I know? Because one of my oh-so-thoughtful Facebook friends has already started the Christmas countdown. And, like so many people out there, my concern is with affording Christmas, especially given all the traps and fees associated with bank accounts, credit cards, prepaid debit cards and payday loans. So, to help sort things out, Pleading Ignorance is looking at the top four fees that are likely to have an impact on you this holiday season.

Why are we so concerned about fees? Well, people have complained to us over and over again that they had no idea these various fees could be charged (they’re called “hidden fees” because you’re not necessarily aware of them—like it’s some sort of game). So, while you’re out buying that super-duper, fancy-schmancy toy-thing that your child has always wanted and just can’t live without, you may find that in addition to the $50 price on the toy, you may be paying some very steep fees. That’s how the financial grinches can steal your Christmas. Here’s what they’ve got in their bag of tricks this season, and what you need to look out for… pleading ignorance copy1 4 Fees To Spoil Your Christmas

1. Bank Overdraft Fees

I’ve already discussed this, but it bears repeating. Yes, some of the banks have agreed to change their overdraft fee policies. Yes, lawmakers are looking to rein banks in (although when we look at all the good it’s doing with credit cards, we have to wonder if it’s worth the effort).

The banks are being accused of automatically enrolling customers in overdraft protection, not telling them about that protection and then charging a fee for that protection (cue ominous laugh here). Even more terrible, they’re accused of reordering transactions to get the highest number of overdraft fees; processing debits before credits so that customers are forced into Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Credit CARD Act, credit cards, Overdraft fees, payday loans, Pleading Ignorance, Prepaid Debit Cards
Posted in Financial, Pleading Ignorance | 18473 Comments »4+Fees+To+Spoil+Your+Christmas2009-11-12+01%3A22%3A31Kristine+B