The assessment of overdraft fees has become a major profit center for many banks. In 2009, banks brought in $37.1 billion in overdraft charges alone. Tycko & Zavareei LLP is investigating banks that may charge overdraft fees on transactions that did not put an account into a negative balance at the time of the transaction. In other words, some banks are charging their customers overdraft fees even when the account has never been overdrawn.
Our investigation reveals that banks’ automatic, fee-based overdraft schemes are intentionally designed to maximize overdraft fee revenue at the expense of consumers. In many instances, these overdraft fees cost account holders hundreds of dollars in a matter of days, or even hours, when they may be overdrawn by only a few dollars—or not at all.
One such case is pending now in federal court in Connecticut against Webster Bank.
If you have been the victim of overdraft fees, please contact us now.