Bank of America to pay $8 million in class-action case for ‘deceptive’ transfer fees
Bank of America has agreed to pay $8 million for a class-action lawsuit settlement with customers accusing the Charlotte-based business of charging fees to transfer money, according to an order signed by a North Carolina federal judge.
Plaintiffs with checking and savings accounts claimed they were charged Automated Clearing House fees after the bank deceived them into doing so, the complaint said. ACH is a national processor of transactions.
The suit, filed with the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina in April 2022 and amended in September 2023, said account holders payed $3 or $10 ACH transfer fees based on delivery speeds. The lawyers for the plaintiffs said it could have been done for free through the National Automated Clearing House Association.
Those transactions occurred between April 4, 2018, and Nov. 17, as stated in the class-action settlement.
Bank of America denied all wrongdoing and liability, according to a joint website for the settlement.
However, it agreed to settle to “avoid the costs, distractions, and risks of litigation” and will start a settlement fund for $8 million with funds going to plaintiffs, attorneys and towards administrative fees.
A complicated system
New York resident Tami Bruin unwittingly had fees for making ACH transfers because of the bank’s misrepresentations and deceptive design on the online banking system, the suit says. She paid a $3 fee numerous times as a customer.
New Jersey resident Eline Barokas, another plaintiff making claims on behalf of customers, had a similar experience with the bank.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the NACHA is a complex electronic payments system operating invisibly in the background of much of the nation’s economic activity.
“Without being aware of it, millions of consumer payments take place on the system daily, including for utility bills, insurance payments, deposits into investment accounts, gym and other monthly memberships, and even small-dollar PayPal and Venmo transfers,” the suit says.
It also puts payees and payor on “equal footing” for transferring money.
“In other words, unlike with most all other consumer economic activity, which requires the payor to send or provide funds to a payee (as with writing a check or handing over cash), the NACHA system allows payees with proper authorization to “pull” money directly from accounts,” the attorneys said.
Customers may receive a share of the net settlement fund based on ACH fees they paid. Payments will vary, but it will be at least $2.
More on Bank of America
Bank of America has more than 19,000 employees in the Charlotte region, part of 213,000 workers across its company. As of June, it had $2.4 trillion in assets, and was the second-largest bank in the United States.
This story was originally published May 17, 2024, 3:53 PM.
