Each year, Americans are charged billions in overdraft fees when they withdraw more than what is available in their account balance. Being routinely charged overdraft fees can quickly add up, especially when coupled with deceptive practices meant to incur even more in fees than a customer expects.

Some bank customers and credit union members may not even be aware that they have the ability to opt out of an overdraft protection program. In short, the widespread and common occurrence of overdraft fees is becoming a real problem, especially for the low-income Americans who can least afford it.

Senator Cory Booker is looking for a way to bring down the extreme rate of overdraft charges. To do so, he has proposed barring banks and credit unions from charging their customers debit card overdraft fees or overdraft fees for ATM withdrawals. While the proposed bill would not completely eliminate overdraft fees for payments made via check, it would limit the frequency of these charges. Booker’s newly proposed bill was created after surveying a number of large banks.

“It’s been well-documented for many years that banks have used a variety of methods to push people into incurring overdraft fees to boost their income,” noted Lauren Saunders, an associated director for the National Consumer Law Center, speaking to Vox. Sanders was involved in Booker’s proposed legislation. “They do a lot to push huge costs on the people least able to bear them.”

Indeed, a Pew study found that just 18 percent of account holders are charged more than 90 percent of the total overdraft and insufficient fund fees.

“Overdraft fees can push people out of the banking system,” Saunders told Vox. “Things get out of control, they lose their banking accounts. People who are living paycheck to paycheck it makes it harder for them to manage their money, more expensive for them to be in the banking system.”

Booker’s proposed legislation—called the Stop Overdraft Profiteering Act of 2018—would cut down on the amount of overdraft fees that can be charged, banning debit card overdraft fees entirely and curbing those that can be charged for check-based payments. On top of this, the bill would also ban banks from deliberately reordering transactions to maximize the number of overdraft fees that can be incurred.

“Overdraft fees fall on those least likely to be able to afford them—individuals for whom a $35 overdraft charge could push them over the brink into financial ruin,” said Booker in a statement. “Our bill would end these unfair practices many banks use that leave some consumers—especially those that are the most vulnerable—trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.”

In 2017 alone, consumers paid a whopping $34.3 billion in bank overdraft fees. This is the highest that bank overdraft fees have been since the end of the recession in 2009—up from $33.3 billion in 2016.

Filing an Overdraft Lawsuit

A number of financial institutions are being investigated for the use of unfair or deceptive overdraft practices, including HSBC Bank, Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), America First Credit Union, and several others.

If you were also affected by deceptive or unfair debit card overdraft fees at these or other financial institutions, you may be able to file a class action lawsuit to pursue your own compensation.