Status: In progress

Arif, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA

The plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit claim Wells Fargo unfairly charges customers who are on the receiving end of a bounced check.

  • Deadline to file a claim: TBD
  • Proof of Purchase Required: No
  • Potential Individual Reward: TBD
  • Total Settlement Amount: TBD
  • States Involved

Abraham Jewett  |  March 20, 2024

Category: Banking News
Close up of Wells Fargo signage, representing the Wells Fargo class action.
(Photo Credit: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock)

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. 

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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20 thoughts onWells Fargo class action claims bank unfairly charges customers for bounced checks

  1. Diane Grosser says:

    Add me and my son. We have a joint account that was charged fees when his paycheck was returned for insufficient funds, a couple of years ago.

  2. Karen says:

    Please add me. I was given checks and deposited there because they were Wells Fargo checks and I told them to check if they had funds before depositing check and they said they can’t do that and I have to actually deposit check. Short story it bounced and I was unfairly xhardged on multiple occasions which I did not know their customer had no money on the acct.

    I was charged over a $1000 for fees

  3. Barbara Rodriguez says:

    ADD ME !!! 😡

  4. Van Gandy says:

    Add me

  5. Kristopher Attalla says:

    Yes wells Fargo back charged me $1,400 on a check then closed my account and put me in check system

  6. Lacey meinke says:

    This same thing happened to me! They even closed my account over it! Someone needs to do something about this. This really needs to be looked at.

  7. Debbie Krzysik says:

    I want to be included in this. They have refused to put blocks on items and kept charging me overdraft fees of 35 dollars

  8. Stacie Roland says:

    Yes charged for insufficient funds and return fees.

    1. Marisol Marrero says:

      I was charged for a 3000 dollar check that bounced the next day and I try to cancel the tea and Wells Fargo told me they couldn’t do nothing to stop the check but it was deposited and all good till next day it bounced not fair to me cause it should of been captured and stop. I was charged the whole check plus fees

    2. Rebecca Racine says:

      I was charged from citizens (peoples) bank 39$ fees eight times in one night and they had direct deposit of my check. It took me three weeks of pay checks to catch up because they kept putting the checks through and charging me!

  9. Keon says:

    Love to learn more

    1. Sandy Lujan says:

      Wells Fargo would return checks that were submitted the same day as my direct deposit. They would claim the checks came in first when in fact my direct deposit did. It came to a point where I had overdrafts were higher than the amount of my direct deposit. I tried to talk with them about it but in the end they said I was at fault so I switched to a different bank altogether.

      1. PJ says:

        Regions also does that.
        And when You empty your account Wells Fargo puts you as Purged

        1. Jacquelyn Mitchell says:

          I had 3 fraudulent checks deposited into my account and I called and reported them 3 times and since my auto withdrawals used the money I had to pay it back. Over drew my account by 462.00. I feel that was not right. They should have done something right away after the first call I made to them

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