Atlantic Union Bank OD Fees on Accounts Not Overdrawn Class Action

Atlantic Union Bank charges $38 for overdraft (OD) and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees, one of the highest such fees in the country. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the bank charges these fees not just when an account is overdrawn, but even in some cases when it has a positive balance.

The class for this action is all persons who have an Atlantic Union checking account who, within the applicable statute of limitations before the filing of this lawsuit, were charged OD or NSF fees on items that did not overdraw their accounts, as shown on Atlantic Union’s bank statements.

Banks earn a lot from fees such as OD and NSF fees. The complaint alleges, “Overdraft fees and insufficient funds fees (‘NSF fees’) are among the primary fee generators for banks.” Moebs Services, a banking industry market research company, claims that banks earned “an estimated $34.5 billion from overdraft fees.”

But the complaint claims that these fees generally fall on the accountholders who are the most financially vulnerable, including young people, those with lower incomes, and nonwhites. Because of this, the complaint alleges, many banks are no longer charging them, and the New York Department of Financial Services has put out guidance asking institutions that still charge such fees to “discontinue the practice.”

In fact, the complaint claims quotes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as finding, in a recent enforcement action, that Regions Bank “acted unfairly and abusively” in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 in charging customers certain OD fees.

As for Atlantic Union, the complaint quotes its Contract as saying, “You understand that we may, at our discretion, honor withdrawal requests that overdraw your account” and also, “If an item is presented without sufficient funds in your account to pay it, we may, at our discretion, pay the item (creating an overdraft) or return the item (resulting in a[n] NSF [transaction]).”

The complaint details its primary claim in a single paragraph: “On or around August 24, 2021, August 30, 2021, and September 23, 2021,” the complaint claims, Atlantic Union charged Plaintiff a $38 OD Fee on a purchase, even though according to [Atlantic Union’s] own account statements, the balance in the account was positive when the fee was assessed.”

The Contract, the complaint points out, gives the bank certain discretionary powers with regard to these fees, but the complaint alleges that Atlantic Union always applies this discretion to its own benefit and not to the customer’s benefit.

The single claim for relief in the complaint is breach of contract, including the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Improper Fees, Overdraft Fees, Unfair Charges, Your Bank