The plaintiff in this case was a customer of American Income Life Insurance Company. This class action alleges that American Income sold an insurance policy to her sister, but then proceeded to take money out of her account, without her permission, to pay for it. The complaint alleges conversion and violation of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
The class for this action is all persons in the US from whose bank accounts American Income initiated a recurring automatic electronic fund transfer not authorized in writing by the parties’ original agreement, between January 28, 2021 and January 28, 2022. A California Subclass has also been proposed, for members of the above class who lived in California at the time they authorized the original agreement authorizing automatic electronic funds transfers.
Plaintiff Jeanette Betancourt had a life insurance policy with American Income that she took out in 2019. In summer 2021, she spoke to her insurance agent about upgrading the policy.
During the upgrading process, the agent asked her if she knew of anyone else among her friends or family who might be interested in buying a similar policy. Betancourt mentioned her sister, Adriana Garcia. The agent contacted Garcia and sold her an insurance policy.
However, Garcia does not have a checking account. For this reason, the complaint alleges, the agent could not complete the process of signing her up for the policy. The complaint alleges, “On information and belief, [the agent] used [Betancourt’s] checking account information to complete the process of signing [Betancourt’s] sister.”
After that, the complaint claims, American Income made three withdrawals from Betancourt’s account: one on July 2, another on September 23, and a third on October 13, 2021.
The complaint alleges that Betancourt never gave American Income permission to take money out of her account to pay for her sister’s insurance policy and that she has asked American Income to refund its withdrawals. The complaint claims that the company “has failed to respond favorably to this day.”
The complaint quotes the EFTA as saying that a “preauthorized electronic fund transfer from a consumer’s account may be authorized by the consumer only in writing, and a copy of such authorization shall be provided to the consumer when made.” The complaint alleges that no such signed or written authorization was obtained from Betancourt before debiting her bank account on a recurring basis.
Also, the complaint alleges that American Income acted with “malice, recklessness, and deliberate disregard for [Betancourt’s] contractual and personal rights.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
American Income Life Insurance Unauthorized Withdrawals EFTA Complaint
January 28, 2022
The plaintiff in this case was a customer of American Income Life Insurance Company. This class action alleges that American Income sold an insurance policy to her sister, but then proceeded to take money out of her account, without her permission, to pay for it. The complaint alleges conversion and violation of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
American Income Life Insurance Unauthorized Withdrawals EFTA ComplaintCase Event History
American Income Life Insurance Unauthorized Withdrawals EFTA Complaint
January 28, 2022
The plaintiff in this case was a customer of American Income Life Insurance Company. This class action alleges that American Income sold an insurance policy to her sister, but then proceeded to take money out of her account, without her permission, to pay for it. The complaint alleges conversion and violation of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
American Income Life Insurance Unauthorized Withdrawals EFTA Complaint