Bank of America Fees ‘Onerous,’ ‘Illegal,’ Says Spa Owner’s Class Action Lawsuit

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Bank of America Fees Overview: 

• Who: Business owners forced to pay undisclosed merchant fees to use Bank of America’s merchant services to accept credit cards. 
• Why: Business owners allegedly pay hundreds of dollars each year in fees that Bank of America does not disclose in its merchant services fee schedule. 
• Where: The plaintiff wants to represent a nationwide Class of merchants in a class action lawsuit filed in California federal court.

The owner of a mobile spa business says that a Bank of America merchant service charges her and other small business owners hundreds in “onerous illegal monthly fees” in a class action lawsuit lodged in California court Tuesday.  

Lead plaintiff, Sheila Walder, owner of Sheila’s Mobile Spa, wants to represent other merchants who pay fees to Banc of America Merchant Services, LLC (BAMS), a partnership between Bank of America and Fiserv, Inc, in order to accept credit and debit cards. She accuses BAMS of misleading business owners about its merchant fees — hitting them with unexpected charges that quickly mount into hundreds of dollars.  

Spa Owner Pays Hundreds in Misleading Bank of America Fees

Walder says that she signed with BAMS in order to run her spa business. She says that when she signed up with the Bank of America sponsored service, she received a Clover point-of-sale credit card reader, as well as a fee schedule outlining the charges she would need to pay in order to accept credit card and other non-cash payments.  

Contrary to the information in Bank of America’s fee schedule, Walder says she pays nearly $40 in undisclosed fees each month. The plaintiff claims that one fee is called “Clover Security Plus” which purportedly ensures compliance with applicable security requirements. Bewilderingly, the other fee, entitled “Non Receipt of PCI validation fee,” was assessed for noncompliance with security standards.  

The plaintiff says she was provided little to no guidance about the security features and fees when she signed up for BAMS. She claims that other merchants like her are in the same boat — paying excessive and undisclosed Bank of America fees.  

The class action lawsuit points out that an annual fee for not submitting proof of compliance with security standards is included in the Bank of America fee schedule; however, the plaintiffs and others are allegedly being assessed fees for security and for not having sufficient security each month.  

Walder says the misleading BAMS system constitutes breach of contract and good faith and fair dealing, and is in violation of California business law. She wants to represent other business owners nationwide who allegedly had to pay misleading Bank of America fees for use of BAMS. The plaintiff wants damages charges in the future.  

Bank of America Fee Class Actions

Earlier this month, a class action lawsuit accusing Bank of America of charging illegal foreign transaction fees to maximize its profits at their cardholders’ expense was filed in North Carolina federal court. Bank of America also recently agreed to pay $5.95 million to end an eBill AutoPay class action lawsuit. 

Bank of America fees are not the only legal trouble facing the financial institution. Multiple class actions were filed after Bank of America shut off debit cards and froze the accounts of unemployment recipients in California after an uptick in fraud. 

Have you a business owner who paid outrageous Bank of America fees using BAMS? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below! 

The plaintiff is represented by Richard D. McCune, David C. Wright, and Elaine s. Kusel of McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP. 

The Bank of America Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Walder v. Banc of America Merchant Services, LLC, et al., Case No. 5:21-cv-01247

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