Bank Of America Class Action Claims Company Failed To Fulfill Promise To Refund Punitive Fees

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Bank Of America Fee Refund Promise Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Anthony Ramirez and Masako Williams filed a class action lawsuit against Bank of America, N.A. 
• Why: Ramirez and Williams claim BofA reneged on its promise to refund punitive fees charged to financially vulnerable account holders during the pandemic.
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Bank of America is going back on its promise to refund overdraft fees to customers who faced financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Anthony Ramirez and Masako Williams claim BofA failed to fulfill a promise it made during the early stages of the pandemic to refund punitive fees to financially vulnerable customers.

Ramirez and Williams argue that, instead of refunding customers as it allegedly promised, BofA kept the fees and made billions of dollars in profits. 

“(BofA) did not keep its promises. While hundreds of thousands of consumers lost their jobs and went hungry, (BofA) reaped enormous profits,” the class action lawsuit states. 

BofA’s promise to refund the fees to customers came following pressure from the public and a growing threat of legislative action toward banks collecting punitive fees, according to the lawsuit. 

Ramirez and Williams claim they both experienced financial hardship during the pandemic, causing them to incur “numerous overdraft and insufficient fund fees” that were “exactly the types of fees that (BofA) promised to help customers with.” 

“But (BofA) failed to waive or refund these fees, despite repeated requests from Plaintiffs,” the class action lawsuit states. “(BofA) told Plaintiffs that they were ‘ineligible’ for any relief, despite (BofA’s) widely publicized public promises to waive such fees for struggling customers.”

BofA ‘Simply Maintained’ Its Pre-COVID Fee Refund Policy 

Ramirez and Williams claim BofA simply maintained its “pre-COVID policy of allowing only a very limited number of fee refunds” while “refusing even to consider refunding any further fees, regardless of the customer’s circumstances.” 

Further, Ramirez and Williams claim BofA did not even set up a way for customers to adequately request to get the refunds they had been promised. 

Ramirez and Williams claim BofA is guilty of Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing and unjust enrichment and in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.

Ramirez and Williams want to represent a nationwide class and California and Texas subclasses of BofA checking account holders who were charged an insufficient fund or overdraft fee after March 12, 2020 and never received a refund. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with restitution and actual and treble damages for themselves and all class members. 

A separate class action lawsuit was filed against BofA in January by consumers who argue the bank mishandled New Jersey residents’ unemployment benefit cards. 

Have you been charged an overdraft fee by your bank? You may qualify to join a free bank overdraft fee class action lawsuit investigation! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Annick M. Persinger, Hassan A. Zavareei, Andrea R. Gold, Lauren Kuhlik and Glenn E. Chappell of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.

The Bank Of America Fee Refund Promise Class Action Lawsuit is Ramirez, et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., Case No. 5:22-cv-00859, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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