Overdraft credit union policies may take advantage of members by increasing the number of overdraft fees they must pay.

Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU) and other financial institutions are suspected of implementing unfair overdraft credit union policies designed to maximize the credit union’s revenues at the expense of its members.

Overdraft protection services offered by BECU and other credit unions allow consumers flexibility with their finances by protecting checking account balances from reaching zero or negative.

BECU specifically offers consumers the option to link their checking accounts to a savings account, money market, or personal line of credit. When the linked checking account is charged for a transaction that will put the balance negative, BECU automatically moves money from the other account to satisfy the amount needed for a transaction.

“An overdraft can occur in your deposit accounts in several ways such as when there are not sufficient fund in your accounts upon (1) the payment of checks, electronic funds transfers, or other withdrawal requests; (2) payments authorized by you; (3) the return of unpaid items deposited to your account; (4) assessment of fees; or(5) when deposited items or no yet available or finally paid, also called ‘uncollected funds’,” BECU’s overdraft credit union policies state.

Although overdraft protection like that offered by BECU can be extremely useful, there is a catch. Every time the bank pays a transaction as a part of overdraft protection, they charge a $25 fee for the convenience. Fees vary between financial institutions but they may be as high as $35.

Consumer complaints suggest that banks may take advantage of their consumers by charging multiple overdraft fees. If as little as three overdraft fees are charged, that’s over $100 the banks may be charging in fees. When the bank is only moving $20 or less to cover a transaction, the consumer may incur more in fees than it cost to complete the transaction.

Attorneys have launched an investigation into claims that banks and credit unions may be taking advantage of consumers in the aforementioned manner. Banks and credit unions included in this investigation are BECU, Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) of California, Digital Credit Union of Massachusetts, Patelco Credit Union, and Summit Credit Union of Wisconsin.

There a variety of ways consumers can protect themselves from unfair overdraft practices and incurring numerous, unmanageable overdraft fees. First, and most obvious, is to opt out of overdraft protection. Banks and credit unions can only charge overdraft fees if a consumer has opted into the program, so opting out is the quickest and easiest way to avoid unfair fees.

If overdraft protection is still important to a consumer, they should keep a close eye on their account balances. Most banks offer mobile banking which can allow consumers to keep a real time watch on their accounts to prevent overdraft fees. Some banks may offer low balance alerts as well which can let a consumer know when they may be at risk for an overdraft fee.

If you were charged unfair overdraft fees by your bank or credit union, you could be eligible to participate in a FREE class action lawsuit investigation. If you qualify, an attorney will contact you to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation.

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