Some consumers suspect their bank or credit union is using questionable overdraft fee assessments. According to complaints from consumers, these overdraft charges are added unfairly after a person overdraws their account.

Banks use overdraft protection to allow charges to run through when there are not sufficient funds in the account, but only if the consumer has opted into this program and protection. For this service, banks can charge an overdraft fee and the customer is responsible for paying that as well as bringing the negative balance back into good standing.

Some consumer advocates, however, are concerned that Alliant Credit Union members may have been hit with Alliant Credit Union overdraft fees that they shouldn’t have had to pay.

Those consumers who had a Alliant Credit Union overdraft that they believe violated laws related to consumer protection may have a legal claim, as have many customers of other credit unions and banks that have come under fire recently for their overdraft practices.

Credit unions and banks have been accused of engaging in unfair and deceptive overdraft practices–in particular, the reordering of transactions to maximize the total number of overdraft fees collected by the bank.

Some reports suggest that numerous credit unions have overdraft practices that could violate consumer protection laws. One that has recently come into the public eye are concerns related to the Alliant Credit Union overdraft practices.

Consumers have reported that credit unions and banks across the country are processing transactions in the order of largest to smallest, in order to deplete the account sooner and make more transactions trigger an overdraft fee.

New federal rules for overdraft fees might be released in future, but some consumers may have already been harmed as a result of Alliant Credit Union overdraft fees. Excessive overdraft fees or the re-ordering of transactions could entitle a consumer to take legal action.

Financial institutions have been prohibited, as of August 2010, from charging overdraft fees to consumers unless those consumers affirmatively opted into the overdraft coverage program.

A current investigation, however, indicates that some of these banks and credit unions might be obtaining an affirmative opt-in, but are trying to re-order transactions to maximize the profits and funds received from overdraft fees.

Numerous banks have faced class action lawsuits associated with deceptive overdraft fee practices in recent years. Some of these lawsuits were filed due to mismanagement of funds, failure to disclose fee structures and any other inappropriate financial practice.

Many of the consumers involved in these lawsuits as well as recent consumers concerned about Alliant Credit Union overdraft fees say that the banks are deliberately reordering transactions in the accounts of consumers to leverage maximum recovery of fees by the banks.

You may have a legal claim if your were charged excessive overdraft fees by one of these banks or credit unions:

• Alliant Credit Union
• Astoria Bank
• BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union)
• Nationwide
• Pacific Western
• Patelco Credit Union
• State Employees Federal Credit Union (SEFCU – New York)
• Sterling Bank
• Educational Employees Credit Union (California)

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