Customers have filed a Bank of America overdraft service fee class action lawsuit, claiming the financial giant violated its own policies.

Plaintiffs Kenneth Owens, Samantha Holley, Kara Gariglio, Nicoletta Pantelyat, Isabelle Scherer, Jonathan Tule, and Kelsea Wiggins have lodged the class action lawsuit against Bank of America over the bank’s allegedly deceptive practice of charging an overdraft service fees under circumstances in which the company’s policies promised it would not. They say that they and other Bank of America customers were improperly charged an overdraft service fee that they shouldn’t have had to pay.

According to Owens and the other Bank of America customers, the financial institution made an official policy of not charging overdraft fees on non-recurring debit card charges between Jan. 1, 2012 and April 6, 2017.

An overdraft occurs when a banking customer attempts to make a debit card purchase that exceeds the amount in their bank account, and the bank allows the charge to go through nonetheless. This is often advertised as a convenience, but can cause customers financial harm because banks usually charge a fee for each overdraft. The average overdraft service fee is around $30 to $35.

Overdraft fees can have a large effect on consumers — Forbes notes that in 2000, the average overdraft fee was $20, and in 2018, it rose to $30. These fees can have a devastating impact on those living paycheck to paycheck. 

The customers claim that during this time period, Bank of America had different overdraft service fee policies for non-recurring and recurring charges. Allegedly, in 2010, Bank of America announced that they would no longer charge overdraft fees for non-recurring charges, as they had in the past.

According to the plaintiffs, the bank stated in official Deposit Agreements and marketing pieces that customers would not be charged overdraft fees for transactions like groceries or a dinner check that surpassed the amount in their account. The bank allegedly told customers that in contrast, they could be charged overdraft fees if the overdraft occurred on a recurring charge like a bill or a gym membership fee.

The customers go on to argue that Bank of America touted this move as a “pro-consumer” decision, and received extensive press for the move.

The consumers assert that “Bank of America then seized upon the distinction it had drawn between one-time, non-recurring debit card transactions and recurring debit card transactions to publicly tout, through a massive media effort, its supposedly pro-consumer decision not to charge overdraft fees on routine debit card transactions.”

Allegedly, this move would cause transactions to be declined instead of letting them overdraw the account, and the customer would not be charged a fee. The customers note that the New York Times stated that this move “could bring an end to the $40 cup of coffee,” and would help consumers who asked Bank of America, “just don’t let me spend money that I don’t have.”

The customers argue that Bank of America’s actions between Jan. 1, 2012 and April 6, 2017 did not match their marketing. Allegedly, the bank continued to charge overdraft fees for some non-recurring fees despite its contentions otherwise.

According to the Bank of America overdraft fee class action lawsuit, the bank improperly classified some charges as recurring when they were non-recurring, including charges from Grubhub, Gett, Eatstreet, PicMonkey, Neighhorflavor, AMI, Seamless, and Doordash.

The customers claim that they were improperly charged an overdraft fee when they made a purchase from these services and did not have sufficient funds to cover the charge, an occurrence that they argue was in conflict with Bank of America’s advertisements.

The plaintiffs also claim that many other bank customers may have been similarly assessed an overdraft fee for non-recurring charges.

Bank of America isn’t the only financial institution to face criticism from consumers over their overdraft charges — consumers at a number of financial institutions have filed overdraft lawsuits against their banks and credit unions claiming that they are being charged unfair overdraft fees. One such lawsuit was filed against Capital One, according to a recent Reuters report.  

The Bank of America Overdraft Service Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Kenneth D. Owens, et al. v. Bank of America NA, et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-20614-XXXX, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
UPDATE: October 2019, the Bank of America overdraft fees class action settlement is now open.Click here to learn more.

If you were charged unfair overdraft fees by your bank or credit union, you could be eligible to participate in a FREE class action lawsuit investigation. If you qualify, an attorney will contact you to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation.

Learn More