First Hawaiian Bank is the oldest bank based in Honolulu, Hawaii, with 57 branches through the islands, along with a handful of others in Guam and Saipan. Like many banks and credit unions all across the country, First Hawaiian offers an overdraft protection program.

Unfortunately, some banks may use unfair overdraft practices or excessive fees to wring more money out of their customers. Indeed, a number of banks are currently being investigated for potentially unfair practices, including First Hawaiian Bank. If you have been subjected to unfair overdraft practices or excessive overdraft fees at First Hawaiian Bank or elsewhere, you may be able to join an overdraft lawsuit investigation.

Overdraft Protection at First Hawaiian Bank

According to Investopedia, a customer can choose to sign up for their bank or credit union’s overdraft protection program, which is supposed to help protect them from being unable to make transactions that push their account below zero. If someone is signed up for one of these programs, that person is allowed to make the transaction using a line of credit from the bank or transferring from a linked account. In return, the customer is charged an “overdraft fee.” These fees vary from bank to bank, but are usually about $35 per overdraft fee. Fees for transfers from a linked account to cover an overdrawn transaction are generally a bit lower.

One important thing to remember about overdraft fees that they compound: each transaction that pushes your account further into overdraft charges another overdraft fee, which can quickly add up to more than $100 in overdraft fees.

At First Hawaiian Bank specifically, customers have several overdraft options. The standard overdraft practice involves the bank extending a line of credit to cover the transaction in exchange for a $30 overdraft fee. Other options include Savings Link, in which customers can link their savings accounts; DebitPlus, which is associated specifically with debit card overdrafts; and Yes-Check, which protects against overdrafts incurred by a check.

Unfair Overdraft Practices

Sadly, some banks may engage in deceptive or unfair overdraft practices to try to wring the most money they can out of their customers. These practices can include not giving customers all necessary information about overdraft programs, not giving them the option to opt out, reordering transactions, or hidden pending transactions that trick customers into thinking they have sufficient funds available.

Some banks reorder transactions: instead of charging transactions as they’re made, they order them from highest to lowest. This way, each subsequent transaction is more likely to incur an overdraft fee. When an overdraft fee is around $35 according to Nerd Wallet, compounding fees can quickly grow to a substantial cost in a single day.

In other cases, banks may not show all pending transactions. This can mean that when you check your account balance online or on your bank’s app, the balance shown may not actually reflect the money available in your account, which can also lead to unexpected fees even when you’re sure there’s enough money to cover a transaction.

Filing an Overdraft Lawsuit

If you have been affected by excessive or unfair overdraft fees, at First Hawaiian Bank or another financial institution, you may be able to file an overdraft lawsuit and pursue compensation.

If you were charged overdraft fees or NSF fees by your bank or credit union that you believe are improper for any reason, the attorneys who work with Top Class Actions are ready to investigate these fees on your behalf.

Learn more by filling out the form on this page.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.