American consumers have had to deal quite extensively with unfair overdraft fees or non-sufficient fund fees (NSF) from several large banks. It is not only American banks that engage in these unethical practices. Banks in Canada have also faced numerous complaints and lawsuits for the same reasons.
Despite the fact that most Canadian provinces prohibit excessive or abusive fees, many leading financial institutions still continue to levy these fees. Lawsuits constitute important challenges to this practice, and can help to put an end to unethical practices. Accordingly, class action lawsuits have been brought against ten Canadian banks, including HSBC Canada, National Bank of Canada, HSBC Canada, Canadian Western, Coast Capital Savings and Vancity.
National Bank of Canada
Back in 2018, lawsuits were filed against the National Bank of Canada for illegally demanding a variety of fees from its clients for professional and financial services. The complaints against this bank have ranged from mortgage issues to unfair overdraft fees.
HSBC Canada
In 2016, a major class action lawsuit was successfully brought against HSBC Canada, with the financial giant agreeing to pay $30 million in settlements. The bank was unable to defend itself against allegations that it intentionally posted debit transactions on customer accounts in order to charge an overdraft fees. The plaintiffs’ legal teams found that the bank routinely allowed customers to use their debit cards to make purchases when there were insufficient funds in their accounts. In addition, it was found that HSBC used special software to re-order transactions automatically in order to raise overdraft fees.
Canadian Western Bank
Alongside a slew of other banks, Canadian Western has faced class action lawsuits in Alberta and other provinces over its NSF fees and overdraft fees, as well as its policies regarding the promotion of insurance products.
Coast Capital Savings
A 2010 lawsuit against Coast Capital Savings saw the plaintiff bringing an action against the credit union, claiming that the overdraft fees levied on her account constituted criminal interest. After numerous appeals, the British Columbia Court of Appeal ultimately granted the plaintiff compensation to the amount of $3,500.
Vancity
The Vancouver Credit Union was named in a lawsuit that contends that it charged overdraft fees that violate the Criminal Code’s restrictions on interest and overdraft fees. This was in 2004, and several such cases have since followed. In 2012, the bank agreed to an out-of-court settlement totalling $2,5 million to pay to eligible members.
Hire Our Team If You’re Entitled to Compensation
Shamis & Gentile, P.A. provides outstanding legal services in Florida and New York. We distinguish ourselves because of our experience and resources, which we combine to handle any kind of case involving personal injury, personal injury protection, and class actions/mass tort, among others. We are accepting qualified clients to bring claims against banks for unfair non-sufficient funds (NSF) overdraft fee practices. If you are a bank customer who has experienced any of these practices, contact us today and book a consultation with an overdraft fee lawyer.
