First Hawaiian Bank claims to be the oldest and largest bank in Hawaii, and it was founded in 1858.  Currently, there are 58 branches in the Hawaiian islands, with several more in Guam and Saipan.

Many Hawaiians visit First Hawaiian Bank for all of their banking needs, but some have begun to question that overdraft fees at First Hawaiian Bank and at other banks where they do business.

What are Overdraft Fees?

Overdraft fees are essentially fees for mini-loans the bank gives you when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a debit card transaction or ATM withdrawal. Automatic bill pay transactions are typically covered as well

Banks have set up these programs so customers can get the money they need, even though it may not be in their checking account to cover it. In exchange for the service, banks and credit unions have a set fee they charge for these overdrafts. These fees average $28 per transaction nationwide.

Until recently, banks could automatically opt customers into this service. Some customers were shocked to find fees tacked on to their purchases with a negative balance on their accounts, and overdraft fees were often the culprit.

It is now required to get customer consent before enrolling them in an overdraft fee program, and automatically putting customers in the program without their express consent is illegal.

Overdraft Fees at First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank has several different overdraft plans. For all its accounts, First Hawaiian Bank has standard overdraft protection.

Rather than declining the charge, overdraft fees at First Hawaiian Bank are assessed for automatic bill payments and checks and other transactions using your First Hawaiian Bank checking account number.

ATM transaction and debit card transactions are only paid if a customer signs up for the DebitPlus feature to include those types of transactions.

First Hawaiian Bank overdraft fees assessed on all its transactions through the standard program or DebitPlus program are $30 per overdraft. If an account maintains a negative balance for more than a week, customers are notified and are charged an additional $10 fee.

Overdraft fees at First Hawaiian Bank have a daily limit of five fees assessed per day, and they offer a courtesy of not charging customers a fee at all if the amount of the overdraft was $5 or less.

Improper Overdraft Fees

overdraft fees at some banks and credit unions are receiving particularly bad due to allegedly improper assessment of overdraft fees. Some financial institutions have been accused of purposely reordering transactions in order to charge customers more overdraft fees than they should be.

Typically, transactions posted to a checking account are processed in the order received. Banks and credit unions accused of engaging in the reordering practices process the largest transaction first and then all smaller transactions later to cause the customer’s checking account to be overdrawn more quickly, and have subsequent overdrafts.

Lawsuits have been filed over these kinds of allegations, with customers fees were assessed improperly in order for the financial institution to make a larger from the overdrafts.

Filing a Lawsuit over Inappropriate Overdraft Fees

If you have been charged inappropriate overdraft fees at First Hawaiian Bank or any other bank or credit union, you may be able to join a class action lawsuit investigation to pursue legal action against the financial institution.

As a lawyer can review your case at no charge and help you decide on your options for filing a lawsuit and to determine if taking legal action is right for you.

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