When customers of Boeing Employees Credit Union, BECU, inadvertently overdraw their bank account, they may rack up unfair BECU overdraft fees.

Sometimes, a customer cannot pay for a bank transaction that they make. This may be a check they write or a debit card transaction that is made at a merchant. When a transaction is more than what a customer has in his or her bank account, the bank account is “overdrawn.”

Many banks charge fees for each transaction that hits their bank account when it is overdrawn. Boeing Employees Credit Union is one such bank.

Boeing Employees Credit Union is a credit union with nearly one million members that began in 1935. The credit union boasts thousands of locations and ATMs primarily in the Seattle and Spokane areas.

At Boeing Employees Credit Union, BECU overdraft fees are an opt-in program, according to their website. BECU overdraft fees are $25 per transaction when a customer’s account is overdrawn.

Some banks and credit unions have been scrutinized by critics who say that same-day transactions that are made on an account that is overdrawn might be reordered recording the highest amounts first. A bank might do this so that they can overdraw the account first, then continue to charge overdraft fees per transaction after that.

Boeing Employees Credit Union’s overdraft fee is the same as its NSF fee, or non-sufficient fund fee. Their website states that the NSF Fee is “$25.00 per transaction for which the available balance is not sufficient for checks and/or ACH payments” and that the “fee will be charged if [the] check and/or ACH payment is paid or returned unpaid.”

BECU overdraft fees also apply if deposited funds are uncollected, or on hold, and the account is overdrawn as well as if a transfer is attempted under the same conditions.

However, Boeing Employees Credit Union also states that “a daily cap of up to five NSF fees and overdraft fees combined will be charged, and a daily cap of up to five NSF Fees – uncollected fees will be charged.”

“No cap for NSF Fee – Transfer,” the BECU overdraft fees section of the website says.

Generally, if a customer overdraws his or her account at Boeing Employees Credit Union, he or she will be charged $25 per transaction.

If, like many Americans who overdraw their account, this customer only gets paid once a month or is experiencing financial hardship, these fees may build up and make it even more difficult to put enough money into their account to cover transactions.

In fact, Pew Research reports that nearly 25% of those who regularly use overdraft protection in the United States pay the equivalent to a week’s worth of wages in overdraft fees.

If you are a Boeing Employees Credit Union customer and believe you have been treated unfairly because of BECU overdraft fees, you may benefit from speaking with an attorney experienced in this matter.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.