Capital One Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Unfair ATM Fees

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Last week, Capital One NA was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it imposes unfair ATM fees on in-network and out-of-network ATMs.

Plaintiff Jacob Figueroa accuses Capital One of assessing “unfair and unconscionable” ATM fees on balance inquiries made at in-network ATMs, even though the bank’s contract documents promise account holders that they will not incur fees for the use of its in-network ATMs.

Figueroa says he was charged a $2 fee when he checked his account balance before withdrawing cash from an in-network ATM. He claims he would not have checked his account balance if he received warning that he would be charged a fee.

Figueroa also claims that Capital One assesses two out-of-network ATM fees when an account holder uses an out-of-network ATM for a balance inquiry before withdrawing cash from the ATM.

“Not only does the non-Capital One ATM operator charge the consumer a fee for the use of its ATM, a charge which now averages $3, but Capital One charges [an out-of-network fee] for a cash withdrawal as well–a punishing double-fee on accountholders that can rise to a total of several dollars for simply accessing their money.”

According to the ATM fee class action lawsuit, Capital One fails to adequately inform account holders that they will be charged two fees for withdrawing funds at a non-Capital One ATM withdrawal, and fails to inform them of the amount of the double-fee.

Capital One knows that consumers expect ATMs to provide a fair fee disclosure on the screen, the ATM fee class action lawsuit alleges. Most ATMs in the United States reportedly ask consumers if they want to check their account balance before proceeding with a cash withdrawal. However, Figueroa says the ATM screen does not disclose that a balance inquiry will incur a usage fee.

“Reasonable consumers like Plaintiff do not, in sum, understand a balance inquiry to be an independent transaction worthy of a separate fee,” the Capital One class action lawsuit says.

Figueroa alleges he withdrew $20 from an out-of-network ATM in April 2015. He checked his account balance after he was prompted to do so. The ATM owner reportedly charged $3 for the cash withdrawal, but nothing for the balance inquiry. According to the ATM fee class action lawsuit, he was shocked to discover that Capital One also charged him two $2 fees: one fee for the balance inquiry and one fee for the cash withdrawal. In sum, he paid $7 in fees for a $20 cash withdrawal.

He filed the Capital One class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and proposed Classes of Capital One checking account holders in the United States who were assessed a fee for a balance inquiry at an in-network ATM and account holders who were assessed two out-of-network fees when they performed a balance inquiry prior to withdrawing cash from an out-of-network ATM. He also seeks to certify New York and California subclasses.

Figueroa is represented by Edwin J. Kilpela, Todd D. Carpenter and Brittany C. Casola of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP; Jeffrey D. Kaliel and Sophia Gold of Kaliel PLLC; Richard D. McCune and Jae (Eddie) K. Kim of McCune Wright LLP; and Taras P. Kick of The Kick Law Firm.

The Capital One ATM Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Jacob Figueroa v. Capital One NA, et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-00692, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: August 2020, the Capital One ATM fees class action settlement is now open. Click here to learn more.