Excecessive Overdraft Fee Legal News Articles & Interviews

Philadelphia, PA  “Gouging” is often implied, but rarely actually said excessive overdraft fee lawsuits. But there it is, in the class action lawsuit’s description of Philadelphia Federal Credit Union’s practice of charging multiple $28 insufficient fee charges for the same transaction and PFCU’s legal duty not to “[exercise] its discretion to enrich itself and gouge its customers.” It’s hot language, but a simple story.

Reno, NV On July 23, 2015, Tonya Gunter had enough money in her checking account to cover her transactions. Nonetheless, United Federal Credit Union (UFCU) charged her eight $30 overdraft fees because her “available balance,” a different and arguably artificially defined number, was too low. Gunter sued. United Federal Credit Union has now agreed to settle Gunter’s class action excessive overdraft fee lawsuit for $1.75 million.

San Francisco, CA Elizabeth Eiess overdrew her USAA bank account when she tried to pay her Citibank credit card bill of $358.85.The payment was returned, and USAA bank assessed an overdraft charge of $29.00. USAA then charged her twice more – every time Citibank submitted the payment – ultimately for a total of $87.00. In her class action excessive overdraft fee lawsuit Eiess claims that this was a violation of her deposit agreement and that it was part of a widespread pattern of abusive conduct toward depositors.

Jacksonville, FL A class action lawsuit filed in Jacksonville Circuit Court claims that VyStar Credit Union routinely assessed multiple insufficient funds charges on the same transaction without authorization by the customer. In her excessive overdraft fee lawsuit, Heather Washington alleges that VyStar charged three separate $32 overdraft fees on a single transaction, in violation of the terms of her Deposit Agreement with the credit union.

Washington, DC JPMorgan Chase, the country’s largest bank, is moving to require credit card customers, and by extension, checking account customers with a linked debit card, to settle disputes through arbitration. It would, reportedly, preclude class action excessive overdraft fee lawsuits like one that in 2012 led JP Morgan to settle with checking account customers for $110 million.

Atlanta, GA In 2010, Jeff Bickerstaff Jr. filed a class action excessive overdraft fee lawsuit against SunTrust Bank, claiming that the $36 overdraft fees he paid when he overdrew his checking account violated Georgia state laws limiting interest charges. The Complaint claims that the fees amount to interest rates as high as 1,000 percent.

Chicago, IL Avant LLC, the online lending phenomenon which had previously been hailed as a “breakout financial success story,” has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for $3.85 million. Although the lawsuit largely relied on a different federal statute, it shares much of the consumer financial protection zeal of the excessive overdraft fee lawsuits recently leveled against credit unions, banks and payday lenders. But it also reveals shortcomings in federal consumer protection laws.

San Diego, CA Navy Federal Credit Union has agreed to settle a class action excessive overdraft fee lawsuit for $24.5 million. Plaintiffs’ lawyers will reportedly seek fees of $6.1 million, approximately 25 percent of the total settlement amount. The settlement marks the end of a lawsuit filed in June 2017.

Washington, DC What, you may ask, does the Pay feature of the new smartphone app, Branch, have to do with excessive overdraft fee lawsuits? The honest answer is maybe nothing. On the other hand, it may be next new frontier for an under-regulated cash advance/overdraft fee/ payday loan industry.

Tacoma, WA Washington State Employees Credit Union (“WSECU”) has agreed to pay $2.99 million to settle an excessive overdraft fees lawsuit. The class action lawsuit, Wodja v. Washington State Employees Credit Union, alleges that WSECU charged overdraft fees when members actually had enough money in their accounts. The settlement covers individuals affected by the credit union’s overdraft practices between 2009 and 2016.