Every bank and credit union has some form of overdraft protection that is offered to consumers who have checking accounts. For some, this can be a very helpful program when used on occasion so that bills can be properly paid and purchases that are necessary can be made at the time they are intended to be made.

However, consumers have been becoming more aware of the various overdraft practices available their financial institutions, and some feel that is practices are unfair and perhaps even illegal. One such questionable practice is charging customers unlimited overdraft fees when their account is overdrawn.

What are Overdrafts and Overdraft Fees?

An overdraft occurs on an account when there is not a sufficient balance to cover a particular transaction, but the bank or credit union pays it anyway. Different financial institutions have different guidelines on what they consider to be covered as overdraft transactions.

For Meriwest Credit Union, checks, transactions using the checking account number and automatic bill payments are all covered as transactions subject to the standard overdraft practices.

Every day debit card transactions and ATM transactions are not covered under standard overdraft practices and are only offered to consumers when they have affirmatively opted in to have those types of overdrafts covered.

Meriwest states on its website, “We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and painting transaction. If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.”

Meriwest Charges Customers Unlimited Overdraft Fees

Meriwest specifically states, “Under our standard overdraft practices: We will charge you a fee of $35 each time we pay an overdraft. There is no limit to the number of overdraft fees that may be assessed per day.”

Many other banks and credit unions have a cap on the number of overdraft fees that can be assessed per day, with the most common limit being three or five overdraft fees per day, although some do some have unlimited overdraft fees as part of their practices as well.

As one can imagine, if a number of purchases are made on the same day, or multiple bill payments are processed on the same day, these fees can add up to a significant amount of money.

Banks and credit unions have taken advantage of this fact and have been steadily increasing their overdraft fees. In fact, overdraft fees bring in a significant amount of revenue for many financial institutions.

Unfortunately, those who are hit the hardest with unlimited overdraft fees are typically the ones who struggle the most financially, living paycheck to paycheck.

Studies have shown that those who are in a better financial position are less likely to get close to a zero balance in their accounts, but those who find that they struggle financially are more apt to be hit with fees, and unlimited overdraft fees can be devastating.

Lawyers are currently investigating the practices surrounding unlimited overdraft fees at Meriwest Credit Union.

If you have paid unlimited overdraft fees at this institution, you may qualify to participate in a free class action lawsuit investigation. An attorney can provide you with a free consultation if you qualify to see if taking legal action is right for you.

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