BancorpSouth Overdraft Fee Class Action Settlement

BancorpSouth has entered into a settlement with a Class of consumers who accused the financial institution of improperly reordering debit card and ATM transactions, causing consumers to incur additional overdraft fees.

Plaintiff Shane Swift originally filed the class action lawsuit in May 2010, saying BancorpSouth wrongly reordered his debit card and ATM transactions in order to increase the number of overdrafts on the account, thereby collecting additional fees for its service.

Bank overdraft fees are assessed on an account when a consumer makes a point of sale purchase with a debit card or withdraws money from an ATM and there is not enough cash in the account to cover the transaction. Sometimes, automatic bill pay or transfers may also trigger an overdraft fee.

Essentially, the overdraft fee is for a very short term loan that the bank gives you to cover the transaction. You are responsible to pay the amount to bring your account out of the negative, along with a fee for the bank’s service of covering your charge.

When banks reorder transactions to process them from highest to lowest dollar amount instead of processing them in the order they were made, it can cause more fees to be assessed.

BancorpSouth maintains that it engaged in no wrongdoing in its transaction posting process and says it complied with laws, regulations and consumer terms listed in customer account agreements.

The Court has not made a decision in favor of the plaintiff or the defendant. Both parties agreed to the settlement to avoid the costs and uncertainties of going to trial.

BancorpSouth has agreed to pay a total of $24 million in the settlement. The settlement includes payments to Class Members, attorneys’ fees and costs and any service award that Swift may receive as Class Representative.

Individual Class Members will be paid by check or by a credit to their account on a pro rata basis that will vary based on the number of eligible Class Members who are in the Settlement Class.

Who’s Eligible

“You are included in the Settlement Class if you were a BancorpSouth Bank customer in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas who had one or more consumer (non-business) Accounts and incurred an Overdraft Fee(s) during the applicable Class Periods set forth below as a result of BancorpSouth Bank’s practice of sequencing Debit Card and ATM transactions from highest to lowest dollar amount.

The Class Periods are as follows:

• Alabama—May 18, 2004 to August 13, 2010
• Arkansas—May 18, 2005 to August 13, 2010
• Florida—May 18, 2006 to August 13, 2010
• Louisiana—May 18, 2003 to August 13, 2010
• Mississippi—May 18, 2007 to August 13, 2010
• Missouri—May 18, 2007 to August 13, 2010
• Tennessee—May 18, 2004 to August 13, 2010
• Texas—May 18, 2006 to August 13, 2010

In order to have incurred an Overdraft Fee as a result of BancorpSouth’s practice of posting Debit Card Transactions from highest to lowest dollar amount, you must have had two or more Overdraft Fees assessed on one or more days during the time periods listed above.”

Potential Award

Varies.

Proof of Purchase

N/A.

Eligible Class Members were notified by mail/email in May 2013 or recently received a postcard in the mail.

If you did not receive a postcard or mail/email but believe you are eligible to participate, you may contact the Settlement Administrator at info@bancorpsouthoverdraftlitigation.com or 1-800-420-2916.

Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS »

Exclusion Deadline

06/02/2016

Case Name

Swift, et al. v. BancorpSouth Bank, Case No. 1:10-cv-00090-MP-GRJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

Final Hearing

07/14/2016

UPDATE: On July 15, 2016, the court granted the BancorpSouth Overdraft settlement final approval.  Let us know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page.

Settlement Website

www.BancorpSouthOverdraftLitigation.com

Claims Administrator

BancorpSouth Overdraft Settlement
P.O. Box 3719
Portland, OR 97208-3719

info@bancorpsouthoverdraftlitigation.com
1-800-420-2916

Class Counsel

Bruce S. Rogow, Esq.
BRUCE S. ROGOW, P.A.

Robert C. Gilbert, Esq.
GROSSMAN ROTH, P.A.

Jeffrey M. Ostrow
KOPELOWITZ OSTROW FERGUSON WEISELBERG GILBERT

Defense Counsel

Eric Jon Taylor, Esq.
HUNTON & WILLIAMS LLP