“From the fourth quarter of 2019 through the second quarter of 2020,” the complaint for this class action claims, “the U.S. economy contracted by more than 19 percent, the worst downturn ever recorded.” Low-income workers were particularly affected by sudden layoffs, and many households were unable to pay their bills. Banks were asked to waive overdraft (OD) and other fees. The complaint brings suit against Bank of America, NA (BANA), alleging that it promised it would refund such fees but did not actually do so.
The Nationwide Class is all BANA consumer checking account holders in the US who, after March 12, 2020, were charged OD fees or nonsufficient funds fees by BANA, after BANA promised to consider waiving such fees due to the pandemic, attempted to seek a refund, and did not receive a refund for such fees.
Alternative California-Only and Texas-Only Classes have also been defined.
A 2014 study from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the complaint alleges, “found that most such fees are incurred on transactions of $24 or less, and that consumers repay the majority of those overdrafts in three days or less.” At the median overdraft fee of $34, the complaint alleges, this works out to a loan at 17,000 percent.
Lawmakers, regulators, and the public asked banks to stop charging OD and/or non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees during the pandemic. In New York, for example, a March 2020 executive order from the governor told the state’s Department of Financial Services to require state-chartered banks to waive OD and other fees to help alleviate the financial hardship so many were suffering.
“In light of this ongoing public pressure and the threat of legislative action,” the complaint alleges, BANA “promised it would refund punitive fees that hurt its most vulnerable customers…” The complaint alleges that BANA told customers they could “request refunds including [for] overdraft fees, non-sufficient funds fees … and monthly maintenance fees.”
Both plaintiffs in this case, Anthony Ramirez and Masako Williams, had checking accounts with BANA, the complaint says, and both suffered hardship during the pandemic, causing them to incur multiple OD and NSF fees. But both say BANA deemed them “ineligible” and did not waive or refund the fees.
“In fact,” the complaint alleges, “upon information and belief, Bana maintained its pre-Covid policy of allowing only a very limited number of fee refunds, and refus[ed] even to consider refunding any further fees…”
It was hard to even ask for refunds, the complaint alleges, claiming “hold times were long, nobody answered the phone, and when someone did answer, calls would be disconnected.” Even those who were able to make the request, the complaint claims, were denied refunds.
In the meantime, the complaint alleges, BANA earned a great deal on these fees: “In 2020, BANA made $1.1billion from overdraft fees alone, and in the first nine months of 2021, it made $823 million solely from overdraft fees.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Unfair Competition
Most Recent Case Event
Bank of America Promise to Refund OD and NSF Fees Complaint
February 10, 2022
“From the fourth quarter of 2019 through the second quarter of 2020,” the complaint for this class action claims, “the U.S. economy contracted by more than 19 percent, the worst downturn ever recorded.” Low-income workers were particularly affected by sudden layoffs, and many households were unable to pay their bills. Banks were asked to waive overdraft (OD) and other fees. The complaint brings suit against Bank of America, NA (BANA), alleging that it promised it would refund such fees but did not actually do so.
Bank of America Promise to Refund OD and NSF Fees ComplaintCase Event History
Bank of America Promise to Refund OD and NSF Fees Complaint
February 10, 2022
“From the fourth quarter of 2019 through the second quarter of 2020,” the complaint for this class action claims, “the U.S. economy contracted by more than 19 percent, the worst downturn ever recorded.” Low-income workers were particularly affected by sudden layoffs, and many households were unable to pay their bills. Banks were asked to waive overdraft (OD) and other fees. The complaint brings suit against Bank of America, NA (BANA), alleging that it promised it would refund such fees but did not actually do so.
Bank of America Promise to Refund OD and NSF Fees Complaint