A California woman who sued USAA Federal Savings Bank over overdraft fees has reportedly reached a confidential settlement with the financial institution.

Elizabeth Eiess filed her overdraft fee lawsuit against the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) Federal Savings Bank in January 2019, claiming that the bank’s overdraft fees were inappropriate.

According to Eiess, she was assessed three overdraft fees of $29 each when she repeatedly attempted to pay her credit card bill last year. Elizabeth claimed that these fees violated consumer protection statutes, as well as the bank’s own policies, as USAA’s deposit agreement allegedly indicates that the bank does not charge multiple fees for the same failed transaction.

The confidential settlement between Eiess and USAA’s Federal Savings Bank is waiting to be approved by a judge. The judge in the case has stated that he is waiting to ensure that the interests of other potential class members in the class action lawsuit are protected before affirming the settlement.

About Overdraft Fees

An overdraft fee is a fee that is assessed against a customer when they attempt to make a purchase or transaction without having an adequate amount of funds in their account. When a consumer overdrafts their account, the bank will often automatically cover the transaction and assess an overdraft fee.

Overdrafts are generally between $25 and $40. However, according to many consumers, some financial institutions may be charging several overdraft fees for the same transaction. This may be happening when the bank attempts to reprocess the failed transaction and withdraw the money from the customer’s account before the customer has deposited enough money into the account to cover the transaction and the fee. When these attempts to re-process the transaction fail, the bank may assess additional overdraft fees for the same initial overdraft.

In other cases, financial institutions may be rearranging transactions and processing them out of chronological order. This may also lead to multiple overdraft fees being assessed against a customer’s account, even if chronologically, only one transaction would have overdrafted the account.

According to one study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, around 40 percent of financial institutions process customer transactions out of chronological order. These banks and credit unions often rearrange the transactions to process them from largest to smallest. This practice may make it difficult for customers to keep track of how much money they have available in their account, and leave them vulnerable to future overdrafts.

If you have been assessed multiple overdraft fees for the same transaction, you may be eligible to hire a qualified attorney and file a class action lawsuit against your bank or credit union. Customers who file class action lawsuits regarding overdrafts may be able to recover reimbursement and additional compensation. Having an experienced attorney on your side may make it easier for you to navigate the legal process.

If you were charged overdraft fees or NSF fees by your bank or credit union that you believe are improper for any reason, the attorneys who work with Top Class Actions are ready to investigate these fees on your behalf.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.