Many customers of financial institutions, whether banks or credit unions, are charged overdraft fees on pending transactions. Customers are now seeking to get their hard-earned money back by filing an overdraft fees lawsuit, as they allege the overdraft fees were taken without consent. Not all banks are sued or are involved in litigation, but many are being investigated. There are various trends in overdraft fee and non-sufficient fund (NSF) litigation and we focus on two specifically.
Overdraft fees on pending transactions
This type of case is also referred to as ‘transactions that authorize positive but settle negative’. Sometimes multiple items are pending on an account and/or checks written have not yet been posted. At the time a customer used their account for example at a gas pump, their account showed a positive balance, but by the time all pending items are posted the account has a negative balance. So, according to the customer, there were sufficient funds, but the financial institution charged an overdraft fee.
Multiple NSF fees charged on the “same transaction”
In this case, customers argue that when a third party re-presents a previously declined transaction, this constitutes a single item and multiple NSF fees cannot be charged. For example, a customer has an automatic debit on their checking account for a monthly premium, but at the time of presentation, there were insufficient funds. An attempt to debit again is made at a later date. The financial institution deems this to be two transactions and charges fees accordingly, but customers deem this to be a single transaction.
If you have been affected by unfair overdraft fees or deceptive overdraft practices by banks or credit unions, overdraft fees attorneys Shamis & Gentile, P.A. can be of assistance. Contact us today if a financial institution charged you overdraft fees on pending transactions.
