Were You Hit with an Unfair NSF Charge?

Some banks may be using deceptive practices to unfairly hit their customers with more than one NSF return item fee at a time for a single transaction. If you have been affected by an unfair NSF charge, you may be able to join this class action lawsuit investigation.

What is an NSF Charge?

An NSF (non-sufficient funds) charge is incurred when a bank rejects a transaction because there isn’t enough money in an account, otherwise known as insufficient funds. An NSF charge (sometimes known as an NSF return item fee) is imposed in these instances, as opposed to an overdraft charge, which occurs when a bank accepts a transaction despite insufficient funds, allowing the account balance to drop into the negatives.

Overdraft fees, unlike NSF charges, can only legally be charged when a customer opts into overdraft protection programs in the first place.

Being hit with an NSF charge is bad enough—especially because these fees most often impact the Americans who can least afford them—but to make it worse, some banks may have policies and practices that can add even more charges. According to a growing number of consumers, some banks are attempting to process consumers’ transactions more than once, failing each time, and therefore charging more than one NSF return item fee for the whole ordeal.

So how does a person end up hit with more than one NSF charge at a time? When a payment is rejected and returned, banks may not give up immediately. Instead, they may try the payment again a few days later. If the payment is once again returned, another NSF return item fee charge may be incurred. This can happen multiple times in a row.

For small electronic payments or even PayPal transactions, these charges can pile up and result in hundreds in fees. This can often occur because of an electronic bill, like a subscription or gym membership, or transfer payment.

NSF Charge Lawsuit

In March 2018, an Oklahoma woman filed a class action lawsuit against Bank of America, alleging that the banking giant hit her and countless others like her with more than one NSF return item fee for a single transaction. In some cases, she claimed, she was hit with an overdraft fee as well as an NSF charge.

According to the plaintiff, Lisa M., Bank of America uses these practices, among others, in order to unfairly increase their revenue at the expense of consumers.

The NSF charge lawsuit alleges that Bank of America’s online banking agreement says that it “may” only re-submit plaintiffs’ payments “a maximum of once,” but that the banking giant has resubmitted payments twice, with no justification from the bank for the decision.

If you were charged with more than one NSF return item fee for a single transaction by Bank of America or another bank, you may be able to file a lawsuit or join a class action lawsuit.

The NSF Charge Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-157, filed in U.S. District Court, Charlotte Division for the Western District of North Carolina.

Join a Free Returned Item Fee Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were charged multiple returned item fees (also known as NSF fees or insufficient funds fees) on the same transaction by your bank, you may be entitled to compensation.

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