Consumers are being warned against potentially illegal overdraft fees that may incur in their Meriwest checking account, allegedly due to improper indexing. Customers are becoming increasingly wary of potential fees that may appear in association with their Meriwest checking account, with overdraft fees being the most prominent.

According to the Meriwest Credit Union website, customers with a Meriwest checking account can expect a full range of services and that the financial institution is prepared to serve “any individual and small business.”

Like other credit unions, Meriwest Credit Union offers optional overdraft protection that will transfer small monetary amounts from a secondary account to the primary account to cover a purchase. Financial institutions offer customers the different payment options to help pay off the charge before it can bounce an account.

Overdraft protection at Meriwest Credit Union behaves this way as well, and is called Courtesy Pay. There is a charge affiliated with this, however. The Meriwest overdraft fee is $35.

However it is important to note, in the Meriwest Credit Union Courtesy Pay brochure, the credit union reportedly implies that they have the right to process transactions in any order that the financial institution deems appropriate. According to the credit union’s brochure, the Meriwest overdraft protection policy clearly states that “transactions may not be processed in the order in which they occurred; therefore the order in which transactions are received and processed may impact the total amount of fees incurred.”

This means a customer’s Meriwest checking account can quickly become depleted, if they do not keep a close eyes on their checking accounts.

Overview of Meriwest Credit Union Overdraft Fee Allegations

Credit unions and banks have been under intense scrutiny for their overdraft fees for the past several years. Meriwest Credit Union is one among many such institutions who have faced criticism for their overdraft protection policies.

Meriwest checking account owners are given the option of overdraft protection, with the credit union promising that overdraft protection will not be activated for ATM or debit transactions unless if the customer signs up. This is similar to the policies of other credit unions, which require their customers to opt-in for overdraft protection for those types of transactions.

Affirmative consent to overdraft protection for ATM and debit transactions was required by the Federal Reserve in 2010, to help combat the rise of unfair overdraft fees.

However, even with this policy in place, unfair overdraft fees are still reportedly a problem in credit unions and banks, as they use it as a revenue generator. According to CNBC reports, 626 large banks had collected $8.4 billion from overdraft fees and other insufficient fees in 2016.

Banks and credit unions may still be taking advantage of the overdraft fee system, resulting in numerous unfair overdraft fees in Meriwest checking account customers and other checking accounts.

Consumers who may have allegedly experienced unfair overdraft fees may be able to file legal action against the financial institution. Potential claimants should contact a lawyer to determine eligibility for an overdraft fee lawsuit.

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