Major banks, credit unions face recent class action lawsuits

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Credit unions, banks lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Class action lawsuits and settlements involving Capital One, U.S. Bank, TD Bank and Ally Financial, among others, have recently been in the news. 
• Why: The class action lawsuits and settlements revolved around claims of fund mismanagement, unauthorized account openings and unlawful fee charging, among other things. 
• Where: Class action lawsuits have targeted banks nationwide. 

Consumers have recently targeted banks and financial institutions with class action lawsuits revolving around unlawful fee and discrimination claims, among other things. 

Several class action settlements have also resolved allegations surrounding a data breach and credit reporting. 

Capital One class action alleges company cost retirement plan members millions with bad investments 

Consumers targeted Capital One with a class action lawsuit earlier this month over claims the company, along with its benefits committee and board of trustees, mismanaged its employees retirement savings plan. 

The former and current Capital One employees behind the class action lawsuit claim the financial institution cost its retirement plan members millions of dollars by making poor investments. 

Capital One could have chosen to make better investments that were “readily available” to them yet failed to do so, the bank lawsuit states.

“Since Defendants have discretion to select the investments made available to participants, Defendants’ breaches are the direct cause of the losses alleged herein,” according to the Capital One class action.

U.S. Bank agrees to pay $37.5 million to resolve claims it opened unauthorized credit accounts

Last month, U.S. Bank agreed to pay a fine of $37.5 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to resolve claims it pressured its employees into applying for credit for customers who had not consented to it. 

The CFPB argued that U.S. Bank would open unauthorized credit accounts as a way to increase its sales numbers.

Further, the CFPB claimed that, while in the process of opening the unauthorized accounts, U.S. Bank would sometimes access a customer’s credit report without having permission to do so. 

U.S. Bank also agreed to put a plan in place to refund customers who incurred fees on accounts they never consented to have opened on their behalf. 

TD Bank lawsuit alleges company charged two out-of-network fees for single account inquiry at non-TD Bank ATMs

Also last month, TD Bank was accused of charging its customers two out-of-network fees if they made a single account inquiry at a non-TD Bank ATM machine. 

The consumer behind the class action lawsuit argues that, while TD Bank customers are aware they will be charged a $3 fee for an account balance inquiry at a non-TD Bank ATM, a second charge is not warranted. 

“Indeed, no customer could have requested multiple balance inquiries of the exact same account during the same ATM transaction,” the TD Bank lawsuit states. 

Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of America used false docs to foreclose on customers, class action says

Bank of New York Mellon (BONYM) and Bank of America (BANA) were also hit with a class action lawsuit last month with the financial institutions accused of running a scheme to illegally foreclose on customers by using forged documents. 

The consumers behind the class action lawsuit claim the banks primarily targeted people of color with an alleged foreclosure scheme involving false affidavits, false mortgage note assignments and forged mortgage note rubber-stamped endorsements. 

“Defendants BANA and BONYM devised a scheme or artifice to defraud that involves the use of many sub-schemes for the purpose of filing and prosecuting thousands of unlawful foreclosures complaints in Hawaii and nationally,” the bank lawsuit states. 

Ally Financial bank lawsuit claims company charges unlawful fees to complete mortgage loan process

Ally Financial, meanwhile, faced claims last month that the bank charges unlawful fees to borrowers during the loan process. 

The consumer behind the class action lawsuit argues Ally Financial does not allow a borrower to complete the loan process by locking in an offered mortgage interest rate until they agree to pay a fee. 

Ally and its partner Better Mortgage Company are to blame for any mortgage interest lock periods needing to be extended despite charging home loan and refinance borrowers fees to do so, the class action states.

Capital One to pay $190 million to end claims revolving around 2019 data breach

Earlier this month, Capital One agreed to pay $190 million to resolve claims it allowed its customers’ information to be accessed during a 2019 data breach. 

The class action settlement was made to benefit around 98 million Capital One customers who may have had their information improperly accessed during the breach. 

Capital One informed its customers in July 2019 that millions of them may have had their information compromised after a third party was able to gain access to its systems. 

U.S. Bank to pay $450,000 to resolve claims it obtained credit reports without consent or valid reason

In July, meanwhile, U.S. Bank agreed to pay $450,000 to put an end to claims that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by allegedly obtaining credit reports without having a purpose to do so and without getting permission. 

The settlement resolved a class action brought against U.S. Bank by a consumer arguing it had accessed his credit report without consent and with no valid reason to do so after he had filed a bankruptcy petition. 

The consumer argues U.S. Bank’s alleged actions hurt his reputation and decreased his credit score. 

NBT Bank agrees to pay $4.25M to end allegations it charged unfair NSF fees

Also in July, NBT Bank agreed to pay $4.25 million to resolve claims it charged its customers unfair non sufficient fund (NSF) fees. 

The settlement put an end to a class action lawsuit alleging it charged unfair NSF fees such as “retry” and “APPSN” fees. 

NBT Bank customers who were charged a “retry” or “APPSN” NSF fee from between Dec. 4, 2013, and Nov. 30, 2021 may be eligible to benefit from the class action settlement. 

Do you believe you have been charged an unfair overdraft or NSF fee by your bank? You may qualify to join a free bank overdraft fee class action lawsuit investigation

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Equifax, Experian, TransUnion identity theft credit damage or inaccuracies recovery lawsuit investigation
• Office of Personnel Management data breach $63M class action settlement
• Jame Roll Form Products biometric privacy $538K class action settlement
• Costco COBRA $750K class action settlement