Lakeland, FL — Credit unions are increasingly coming under
fire for excessive overdraft fees, in the same way that major banks have been
taken to task for misdeeds such as reorganizing transactions to maximize fees.
In October plaintiff Martha Towner filed a Credit Union Excessive Overdraft
Fees lawsuit alleging 1st MidAmerica Credit Union charged overdraft fees
improperly.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, according to various
media reports. Since September, at least a dozen credit unions have been hit
with class-action Excessive Overdraft Fees lawsuits in nine states, with
various pundits weighing in with the observation that this could be the tip of
the iceberg.
Towner, in her class-action
lawsuit (Towner et al v. MidAmerica Credit Union, and Does 1-100, case No.
3:15-cv-01162, filed October 20, 2015 in US District Court, Southern District
of Illinois), claims that her credit union charged her overdraft fees on
various transactions, even though there were sufficient funds in her checking
account to cover those transactions.
Tracy Fry is another
plaintiff who takes exception to the practices of credit unions. Fry asserts in
her Credit Union Lawsuit filed in November that MidFlorida Credit Union based
in Lakeland charged overdraft fees based on members’ available balances, rather
than actual balances. Not only does Fry assert that such methodology is
improper, but also constitutes a breach of MidFlorida’s opt-in agreement and
was not consistent with disclosures issued to members.
MidFlorida, it should
be noted, serves 220,000 members and boasts $2.3 billion in assets.
Plaintiffs assert
that credit unions with such assets do not need to be nickel-and-diming their
members in such fashion. Pundits and industry watchers, meanwhile, say that
what we’re seeing is just the tip of an iceberg that will soon reveal itself.
Numerous Credit Union Excessive Overdraft Fees Lawsuits have
alleged that credit unions altered the sequence of transactions to maximize
fees. While in some cases this has yet to be proven, other lawsuits - such as
those of Fry and Towner noted above - accuse the credit unions of misleading
practices while basing fees on available balances, rather than actual balances.
Industry watchers assert that such lawsuits are not necessarily alleging the
credit union is doing anything blatantly improper, but rather is accusing the
credit union of misleading conduct.
Attorneys
representing the interests of credit unions are urging such organizations to
review their disclosures to ensure everything is buttoned-down, thus avoiding
any fee, debit or other activity that might be viewed as misleading.
Plaintiffs, on the
other hand, aren’t waiting for credit unions to get their respective houses in order.
If they have been misled or wronged with unnecessary fees, the credit union is
going to hear about it through the plaintiff’s Excessive Overdraft Fees Lawsuit
lawyer.
To read more like this visit: https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/Credit-Union-excessive-overdraft-fees/credit-union-excessive-overdraft-fees-lawsuit-5-21198.html#.VpjveMIUWM8
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