Some bank and credit union customers have wondered if they may have been charged in an unfair ways for overdraft protection. The Capital One overdraft policy, for example, may be unfair and their customers may have been overcharged.

In the U.S., Capital One is one of the largest commercial banks. It specializes in auto loans, credit cards and consumer and commercial banking products.

With its multitude of customers, the Capital One overdraft policy has come under fire as the bank has been accused of charging their customers unfairly for overdraft charges.

Overdraft protection is a service that banks and credit unions offer to customers in order to help them when funds in their checking accounts dwindle. If a customer uses more money than is available in their account, overdraft protection kicks in for those who have opted in to their bank’s program.

If a customer who has opted in to overdraft protection overdraws their account, or spends more money than he or she has, money is either taken from a designated savings account to cover the charge, or money is borrowed from the bank to cover the charge.

In many cases, and is the case with Capital One customers, an additional charge will accompany each charge that overdraws the account. This is called an overdraft charge.

Capital One’s Next Day Grace overdraft policy states that they charge customers $35 each time an overdraft is paid by the bank, unless the customer covers the overdrawn amount within one day. Some critics argue that for the millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, fees such as this are extreme.

It’s alleged that some aspects of the policies of banks like Capital One can be deceptive. Various individuals have accused the bank’s overdraft policy of supporting a way of posting charges to a customer’s account in order to reap more money in overdraft charges.

Sometimes a bank may engage in the reordering of transactions. What this means is that they may post charges to a user’s account in a different order than the order they actually come in. If a bank reorders transactions to post in the order of largest transactions first, this may drain a bank customer’s bank account quicker than if they had been posted in the order that they were made.

These fees can add up quickly for bank customers. Many customers may not be aware that their transactions are being posted in a different order than they were made and thus may be unaware that they have overdrawn their account.

Not too long ago, Capital One agreed to pay a $31.7 million settlement to compensate their customers who were charged overdraft fees. Capital One has not admitted to any wrongdoing, but it has been accused of reordering bank transactions in order to charge customers elevated fees.

This settlement regarding the Capital One overdraft policy does not insinuate any admission of guilt by the banking company, although customers are still complaining about the bank’s overdraft practices.

If you have banked with Capital One, have had a consumer checking account and have been charged overdraft fees in accordance with the Capital One overdraft policy, you may be eligible to receive a part of this settlement.

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