Anna Bradley-Smith  |  March 29, 2021

Category: Fees

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Credit Union New Jersey is facing a class action lawsuit over unlawful overdraft fees.

Credit Union New Jersey is charging customers $30 overdraft fees, despite accounts having ample money to cover transactions, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

In a proposed nationwide class action lawsuit filed March 26 in New Jersey, lead Plaintiff Angela Baylor-Baker claims Credit Union New Jersey (CUNJ) repeatedly charged her $30 overdraft fees even though her account was not overdrawn.

If you were charged an overdraft fee and/or NSF fee by a financial institution listed on this page you may qualify for a free class action lawsuit claim review.

Baylor-Baker, a Trenton, New Jersey resident, said in the lawsuit on May 5, 2020, she was charged the fee after making a $39.80 transaction at Walmart while her account balance was $109.45. After the purchase was taken from her account, CUNJ subtracted an additional $30 – leaving her with a balance of $39.65.

Then, on her next transaction the same day, Baylor-Baker was charged a $30 overdraft fee on a purchase of $23.51, again from Walmart, despite having the funds in her account to cover it, the class action lawsuit alleges.

The same thing happened twice again on June 10, where, despite Baylor-Baker having the funds in her account to cover the transactions, she was charged a total of $60 in overdraft fees, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, CUNJ says “an overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway.” Because the bank charged Baylor-Baker the fees despite having enough money, the bank is breaching its agreement with account holders, the lawsuit alleges.

“Besides being deceptive, unfair and unconscionable, these practices breach contractual promises that CUNJ made to all accountholders—namely, that it would charge OD Fees only as a result of transactions that actually overdraw an account,” the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Baylor-Baker was repeatedly charged overdraft fees on routine transactions, and the bank’s own account statements show her account balance never went into the negative before being charged and overdraft fee. “By definition, then, there were always funds to pay the full amount of those transactions—yet CUNJ assessed an OD Fee on them anyway.”

Baylor-Baker is seeking to represent all CUNJ checking account holders in the country who were charged one or more overdraft fees on transactions that did not overdraw their accounts, during the applicable statute of limitations. She is also looking to represent a New Jersey subclass who experienced the same situation.

The proposed class action is suing over breach of contract and seeks certification of the Class, damages, restitution, injunctive relief, legal fees and a jury trial.

CUNJ is not the first bank to face legal action over allegedly charging improper fees. In 2019, TD Bank paid out $70 million to consumers for allegedly duping them with deceptive overdraft fee policies and Bank of America agreed to pay $4.95 million to customers to resolve claims that it deceptively charged overdraft fees on one-time, non-recurring debit card transactions.

Have you been charged an overdraft fee by your bank that you thought was unfair? Let us know in the comments!

Angela Baylor-Baker is represented by Phillip L. Fraietta and Joseph I. Marchese of Bursor & Fisher, P.A.

The Credit Union New Jersey Overdraft Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Angela Baylor-Baker vs. Credit Union of New Jersey, Case No. 3:21-cv-06954, in the U.S. District Court District of New Jersey.

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2 thoughts onNew Jersey Bank Charging Overdraft Fees on Well-Funded Accounts, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

  1. John Thomas Cokos says:

    Gentlemen: TD Bank pays out over $100 Million Overdraft Fee fines: NOTHING HAS CHANGED !!! Down here in Southern New Jersey I’m currently in battle over the Overdraft Policy. I have a small SS Direct Deposit with TD. They withdrew over 50% of the SS funds, as the other 50% goes into a Savings Accounts. I went to the Branch Office to confront them with this, The Bank Manager credited me with $70 worth of charges, but it still left me with $15 in Checking…..I’m contacting the NJ Banking Commission with a formal complaint, but here in New Jersey they STILL NEED taken to Federal Court with ANOTHER CLASS ACTION….

  2. LISA HAWKINS says:

    Please add me

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