Umpqua Bank Overdraft Fee Class Action Lawsuit

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A California resident who says he was improperly charged hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees by Umpqua Bank has filed a class action lawsuit against the bank, making Umpqua the latest in a long list of banks being sued for illegal overdraft fee policies.

Plaintiff Amber Hawthorne alleges in the Umpqua Bank class action lawsuit that she and other Umpqua customers in Oregon, California, Washington and Nevada were charged illegal overdraft fees because of Umpqua’s unfair and deceptive overdraft fee practices.

These alleged practices include, among other things, re-ordering debit card transactions from highest dollar amount to lowest dollar amount in order to deplete the customer’s available funds as quickly as possible while maximizing the number of overdraft fees, the Umpqua Bank overdraft fee class action lawsuit states.

The Umpqua Bank overdraft fee class action lawsuit also alleges that Umpqua failed to disclose or properly disclose its overdraft policies, including by providing bank statements which did not indicate the order in which transactions were actually posted to accounts.

Umpqua Bank joins a growing list of U.S. banks being sued for illegal overdraft fee policies. In August 2010, a judge awarded California Wells Fargo customers  $203 million in damages related to their overdraft fee practices. Bank of America reached a similar class action lawsuit settlement in November 2011, agreeing to pay its customers $410 million for charging improper overdraft fees.

Similar overdraft fee class action lawsuits have been filed against more than 30 other banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Union Bank, which recently agreed to a $35 million class action settlement.

“Banks should not be allowed to gouge customers by unfairly manipulating the manner in which transactions are posted and overdraft fees are charged. It’s hard enough for families to make ends meet. It is shocking that a bank like Umpqua, which claims to be community-focused, would engage in these abusive practices,” said an attorney representing Hawthorne in the Umpqua Bank overdraft fee class action lawsuit.

UPDATE: Instructions on how to file a claim for the Umpqua Bank overdraft fee class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.UmpquaBankOverdraftSettlement.com for details.