A Bank of America class action lawsuit argues that the company is enrolling customers into different bank accounts with higher fees before getting authorization from account holders.

Plaintiff Victoria Flores initiated the Bank of America class action lawsuit regarding checking account fees.

According to the Bank of America class action lawsuit, the plaintiff is an account holder with the bank who signed a contract for a free checking account.

Several years after the account was opened, however, the bank, according to the Bank of America class action lawsuit, altered the terms of agreement between the plaintiff and the bank and began assessing a $12 month service charge.

The charges were connected with the plaintiff being enrolled in a core checking account. The Bank of America class action lawsuit says that consumer protection laws in the state of Colorado and basic contract law prohibit the bank from unilaterally altering contract terms such that the original terms of the contract are unrecognizable.

The Bank of America class action lawsuit further alleges that the financial institution took measures to ensure that customers would be enrolled in the core checking account and have to pay $144 per year.

The Bank of America class action says that the bank exerted duress to ensure that customers did not leave the bank and also took measures to minimize the chances that the notice provided to the consumers was ineffective.

Although the Bank of America class action lawsuit says that the bank is within their rights to discontinue offering a product such as free checking accounts, the lawsuit argues that it is not the bank’s right to default those individuals and put them into a new more expensive product without obtaining affirmative consent of the consumer.

The plaintiff in the Bank of America class action lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring that the bank provide a transparent and fair process through which it notifies consumers of another Bank of America product, allows them to choose to opt into the core checking account or to close their account.

Furthermore, the plaintiff in the proposed class action seeks a refund of the monthly service charges that were paid by consumers who were charged for core checking accounts before getting appropriate notice and being able to make a decision.

The plaintiff says that she is not arguing about Bank of America’s decision to close down certain accounts, but says the financial institution must be held accountable for failing to notify customers about their options first.

The Bank of America class action lawsuit says that the plaintiff’s e-banking account, which was a free checking account, was closed in January 2018 and that she was instead enrolled without affirmative consent in the core checking account.

The plaintiff is represented by Jeffery D. Kaliel and Sophia Gold of Kaliel PLLC and Edward Kilpela, Todd D. Carpenter, and Brittany C. Casola of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP.

The Bank of America Checking Account Class Action Lawsuit is Victoria Flores v. Bank of America NA, Case No. 1:18-cv-02527-WJM, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.