Wells Fargo class action claims consumers charged fee for depositing bounced checks

Wells Fargo fee class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Kimara Smith sued Wells Fargo bank.
• Why: Smith claims the bank illegally charges $12 bounced check fees.
• Where: The Wells Fargo fee class action was filed in a Georgia federal court.

A Georgia woman has filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo alleging the bank illegally charges fees for bounced checks. 

Plaintiff Kimara Smith filed the class action complaint against Wells Fargo Bank N.A on Aug. 2 in a Georgia federal court, alleging breach of contract and state consumer laws. 

The lawsuit centers on the bank’s alleged practice of charging consumers fees for checks that bounce, even when the depositor had no reason to suspect the check would not clear. 

$12 fee for bounced checks

Smith, a Georgia resident, claims she and other Wells Fargo customers were unjustly charged a $12 fee after a deposited check was returned unpaid.

Her lawsuit alleges that Wells Fargo has a “blanket policy” of imposing “Deposited Item Return Unpaid Fees” on all returned checks, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the transaction. 

According to Smith, this policy violates the bank’s contractual obligations and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. 

The lawsuit seeks to remedy what Smith describes as a longstanding practice among financial institutions to “penalize depositors for returned checks,” which often leaves consumers blindsided by unexpected fees.

Smith says, in February 2024, she attempted to deposit a check into her Wells Fargo account. Unbeknownst to her, the check was returned unpaid, and she was subsequently charged the $12 fee, she says. 

Smith alleges that the fee was unfairly assessed under Wells Fargo’s blanket policy, which does not consider the origin of the check or the reason for its return.

“Generally, a customer depositing a check anticipates receipt of the funds,” the lawsuit says. 

“Unfortunately, external factors can lead to a deposit being returned. This can occur due to the sender’s account insufficiency, a stop payment ordered by the sender, or even processing errors. Therefore, these unforeseeable circumstances can expose the depositor to unfair and unavoidable financial repercussions.”

Seeking damages

Smith is looking to represent a nationwide class of Wells Fargo customers who were also charged these fees, between Feb. 1, 2024, and March 30, 2024. 

Her lawsuit claims breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of Georgia consumer protection laws, and seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo is facing a separate class action lawsuit alleging the bank knowingly engaged in a marketing scam involving purportedly free trials that turned into costly subscriptions that were difficult to cancel, ultimately scamming $200 million from consumers.

What do you think of the allegations in this Wells Fargo fee case? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiff is represented by Brent Kaufman and Paul J. Doolittle of Poulin Willey Anastopoulo.

The Wells Fargo fees class action lawsuit is Kimara Smith v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A, Case No. 1:24-cv-00125-JRH-BKE in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

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