Update:
- Wells Fargo says a class action lawsuit related to its bounced check fees should be dismissed because it clearly disclosed the $12 fee to customers. It claims the case should go to arbitration instead.
- Wells Fargo allegedly assessed the fees between 2020 and 2022 before dropping them entirely Feb. 22, 2023.
- The plaintiffs’ attorneys attached a new copy of checking account terms that shows a $0 bounced check fee but those terms were not in place during the class period when the bank assessed the $12 fee, Wells Fargo says.
- The plaintiffs cited a Nov. 17, 2022, bulletin from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) saying the fees are “unconscionable” and “unlawful.” Wells Fargo allegedly charged the subject fees before the CFPB issued the bulletin.
Wells Fargo bounced checks class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Maher Arif, Brad Ellish, Batmadakh Choijin and Dagvador Batyarsaihan filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
- Why: The plaintiffs claim Wells Fargo unfairly charges customers on the receiving end of a bounced check.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in South Dakota federal court.
(March 20, 2024)
Wells Fargo unfairly charges customers who are on the receiving end of checks that bounce, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Maher Arif, Brad Ellish, Batmadakh Choijin and Dagvador Batyarsaihan claim Wells Fargo charges customers so-called “deposited item return unpaid fees” if they receive a check that bounces.
“Plaintiffs were shocked when they were charged these fees because they did nothing wrong yet were penalized by Wells Fargo,” the class action states.
Arif, Ellish, Choijin and Batyarsaihan want to represent a nationwide class and California, New Jersey and Nevada subclasses of individuals who had or have accounts with Wells Fargo and who were charged a deposited item return unpaid fee by the financial institution.
Wells Fargo deposited item return unpaid fee unfair, oppressive class action claims
The plaintiffs argue Wells Fargo acts in a matter that is “unfair, oppressive and against public policy,” according to the lawsuit.
“Because the depositor could not have reasonably known the check was bad, it is unfair to charge the check recipient a fee for returning the check,” the Wells Fargo class action states.
Arif, Ellish, Choijin and Batyarsaihan claim Wells Fargo is guilty of unjust enrichment, breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and violations of New Jersey, Nevada and California law.
They demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, consequential, punitive, statutory and treble damages for themselves and all class members.
A consumer filed a similar class action lawsuit against Citibank earlier this month over claims the bank unfairly charged customers who had a bad check deposited into their account.
Has Wells Fargo charged you a deposited item return unpaid fee? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Scott N. Heidepriem, Matthew A. Tysdal and Pete Heidepriem of Heidepriem, Purtell, Siegel & Hinrichs, LLP and Lisa R. Considine, David J. DiSabato and Oren Faircloth of Siri & Glimstad LLP.
The Wells Fargo bounced checks class action lawsuit is Arif, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, Case No. 4:24-cv-04044, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.
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25 thoughts onWells Fargo seeks dismissal of bounced check class action
College age daughter was scammed on Rover. She deposited the check into her account then got suspicious. I told her to call WFB to report that she thinks she was scammed and that the check was fraudulent. They closed her account the next day and said she could no longer bank with them. We as a family have banked with them for 30 years, have had mortgages and use their wealth management. And now this is also on the check system database which other banks will see and use to keep her from opening accounts with them. Happy to join any classaction suit against WFB.
I was also charged nsf fee for a check deposited to my account that was fraudulent not to mention on a separate occasion they charged me for a dispute they say I made but I didn’t an they took my whole pay check from me so I report it to higher authorities but never could they give me an exact reason or explanation of what happened so plz include me
We Jaber an account for years. Unbelievable my husband was told what to check to get the approval
please add me
Add me to all of Wells Fargo lawsuits. They have stolen money from my accounts and after paying a loan account in full they report to the credit bureaus saying that they wrote it off. I have all the transactions receipts and am going to file a police report and seek retributions. They have stolen money from me and my deceased husband who was a Vietnam Veteran and when we appealed that my dead husband’s debit card was been used in Mexico with transactions over 10K and I was in the USA. They denied the claim and I just got a computer generated letter denying my claims with no reasons how they came to this decision.
Absolutely please add me!!!!
I got tired of the overdraft fees and sending emails to them. I bet they charged me multiple times over 1 single transaction. I’d like to be a part of this lawsuit.
I happened every time I wrote a check even though I had even funds in the bank. I unknowingly received returned check fee, NSF fees an plus allowed casher to cash the checks. It happened just a day or 2 later. Wells Fargo did not give me a break to recuperate the funds to cover! We closed our account with Wells Fargo due to unnecessary fees!
Please add me to the lawsuit cause it was abunch of crap that costed me my jobs my bank account my money my home even
A fraudulent check was put in my account over drafted me 1000s somehow took all my money out of my account plus my next few checks from 2 jobs I didn’t receive because they froze my account and the. Closed it said only way it could be fixed is if I reported it but when I said to report it they all of a sudden didn’t have any camera footage of the time the persons deposited the check so they closed my account said it was my fault and there was nothing they could do about it