According to Class Action Lawsuits, These Are The Worst Banks in America

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Worst Banks In America Class Action Lawsuits Overview: 

• Who: Banks including Citibank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and others have recently faced or settled class action complaints. 
• Why: Complaints lobbied at the banks include allegations of misconduct involving data protection, account management and overdraft fees, among other things. 
• Where: Class action lawsuits have been recently filed against banks nationwide.

Consumers are not shy about targeting banking institutions with class action lawsuits. 

A number of complaints have been filed and/or settled recently against the nation’s largest financial establishments for allegations involving overdraft fees, data protection and conversation recording, among other things. 

According to the class action lawsuits and the consumers behind them, these banks are the nation’s worst offenders:

Citibank Accused of Placing Robocalls to Non-Customers Without Consent

Certification was given earlier this month to consumers targeting Citibank with a class action lawsuit for allegedly robocalling them without their consent. 

Consumers, who are not Citibank customers, claim the financial institution has placed unsolicited robocalls to potentially more than 1 million individuals, including those with phone numbers that have been marked as wrong.

The lead plaintiff in the case, Christine Head, claims she received more than 100 robocalls from Citibank in 2017 that were in regard to an overdue credit account belonging to a man she didn’t know. 

The robocalls allegedly used by Citibank are either fake or prerecorded, the class of noncustomers alleges. 

Wells Fargo Settles Bankruptcy Credit Reporting, Unlawful Recording Claims

Wells Fargo is another well-known bank that has recently been in the spotlight with the financial institution agreeing to pay $3 million last month to resolve allegations it mishandled customers’ bankruptcy credit reporting. 

The settlement capped off a 2018 class action lawsuit filed by customers who argued Wells Fargo failed to properly update the credit reports for individuals whose debts were sold off after they filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. 

The agreements came on the heels of final approval being given in December for a $28 million settlement between Wells Fargo and customers who claimed the bank recorded them without consent. 

Customers in that complaint argued telemarketing merchants hired by Wells Fargo recorded them during sales calls without their knowledge or consent. 

Also in December, attorneys working with Top Class Actions announced they are looking into recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in overdraft fees Wells Fargo allegedly improperly charges its customers annually. 

Wells Fargo customers who have been charged an overdraft fee on a debit card purchase during the last year are being encouraged to make a claim to join arbitration. 

PNC Bank Accused Of Keeping Unearned Fees, Overcharging Mortgage Holders In Pandemic Deferral Program

Consumers have also filed class action lawsuits against PNC Bank recently with one alleging last month that the bank keeps unearned Guaranteed Automobile Protection (GAP) fees for itself. 

The plaintiff in that case, Vincent I. Ratulowski, claims PNC charges auto loan customers GAP fees that are included through the end of their original payoff time period even if they pay their account off early. 

Ratulowski argues PNC should refund these GAP fees to the auto loan customers, and that the bank earns tens of millions of dollars each year that is not rightfully theirs by not providing refunds. 

The complaint came on the heels of an October class action lawsuit which alleged PNC overcharged mortgage account holders who had enrolled in a deferral program during the pandemic. 

Homeowners claim PNC simply added deferred payments to their outstanding balances, essentially double charging them and increasing the size of their mortgages. 

In brighter news for PNC, in December the bank permanently escaped a separate class action lawsuit claiming it had aided and abetted an alleged $75 million Ponzi scheme. 

JPMorgan Chase Settles Claims It Mismanaged Mortgage Escrows, Conspired To Inflate Out-Of-Network ATM Surcharges

JPMorgan Chase, meanwhile, agreed to an $11.5 million settlement last month to resolve claims it went against state interest laws by mismanaging escrow balances. 

Consumers claim JPMorgan Chase failed to pay interest to customers who had paid money to be held in mortgage escrow by the bank, as required by Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

JPMorgan Chase was also part of a $66 million settlement agreement in December, which resolved claims it and other banks charged customers unfair out-of-network ATM fees. 

Consumers alleged JPMorgan Chase and other major banks had conspired to raise surcharges for using out-of-network ATMs to make a greater profit. 

Bank of America Accused Of Failing To Protect Customer Data 

Bank of America is also facing claims filed last month that argue it mishandled New Jersey residents’ unemployment benefit debit cards.

Plaintiff Cassandra Valerie Beaman claims BoA has cost New Jerseyans thousands of dollars in benefits and led to their personal and account information becoming compromised. 

The class action lawsuit was filed by Cassandra Valerie Beaman, a New Jersey resident who lost her job in March 2020 after the start of the coronavirus pandemic and began receiving unemployment benefits via a Bank of America LWD debit card. In May 2021, Beaman noticed and reported $300 worth of fraudulent activity on the account.

Have you been charged an overdraft fee for a transaction made using your checking account? You may qualify to join a free class action lawsuit investigation!

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• ​​Santander Bank Reaches $4.25M Settlement With Managers in Overtime Class Action
• LendingClub Hidden Fees FTC Settlement
• FTC Warns ‘Skyrocketing’ Number of Scammers Find Victims of All Ages on Social Media
• FTC Testifies Before Senate On Preventing Fraud Stemming From COVID-19 Misinformation