Bank Overdraft Fee Articles

Coral Gables, FL (Press Release) Citizens Bank has agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit which accused the bank of manipulating its customers’ debit card and ATM transactions in order to generate excess overdraft fee revenues for the bank. The lawsuit, part of multidistrict litigation involving more than 30 different banks entitled In re Checking Account Overdraft Litigation, case number 09-cv-02036, is pending before U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King in Miami. Citizens Bank is part of Citizens Financial Group which, through RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, operates more than 1,500 retail banking branches throughout the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-West.

Salt Lake City, UT: Customers upset over excessive bank overdraft fees have filed another lawsuit, this one against Zions Bank, alleging excessive bank fees. According to reports, bank customers claim the bank overdraft fees policy forced customers into overdraft more quickly than they should have, resulting in high profits from overdraft fees.

Salt Lake City, UT: A group of angry customers has filed a lawsuit against Zions Bank in Utah, as the class-action group is protesting the institution's implementation of excessive overdraft fees, The Associated Press reported.

Miami, FL: Despite regulators' attempts to curb excessive overdraft fees, a new study indicates that bank overdraft fees continue to rise. The good news for consumers, according to reports, is that overdraft fees are not rising as quickly as they used to. The bad news is that as more consumers choose not to join programs that charge excessive bank overdraft fees, the banks will likely turn their attentions elsewhere, and find new ways to increase profits.

Boca Raton, FL: Despite the fact that the issue was addressed by Congress last year, a number of consumer advocate groups are up in arms again over excessive bank overdraft fees, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Los Angeles, CA: For customers who are angry about being charged excessive bank overdraft fees, filing a lawsuit may be the best way to recover lost money. Some banks have already faced bank overdraft fees lawsuits, although there are still banks that allegedly profited off bank overdraft fees by reordering transactions but have not been subject to lawsuits.

Denver, CO: Banks across the United States are feeling the wrath of unhappy customers as lawsuits alleging excessive bank overdraft fees pile up. Customers allege they are not only charged outrageous bank overdraft fees but are also subjected to reordering of transactions, which pushes their accounts into overdraft quickly, increasing the amount they pay in banking overdraft fees.

Tampa Bay, FL: Customers who are concerned about excessive bank overdraft fees may be happy to hear that some bank overdraft fees lawsuits have been settled, with the defendants paying for their alleged excessive bank fees. Both Bank of America and Wells Fargo have or will pay customers for practices that critics and a judge argue are unethical. Meanwhile, other banks face lawsuits, which allege that they use unfair practices to increase profits while harming consumers.

Akron, OH: A recently filed class-action lawsuit accuses Akron, Ohio-based FirstMerit of "unfairly manipulating" the order of customer transactions, which resulted in excessive overdraft fees, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports.

Washington, D.C.: Losses in revenue from bank overdraft fees resulting from a new federal rule have led many banks to create new charges in order to keep their bottom lines intact.