McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP (MWA) — a law firm that has been on the forefront of consumer fraud and financial services class actions over overdraft practices and fees — has called upon banks and credit unions to immediately suspend imposing predatory overdraft and NSF fees as consumers and small businesses struggle to keep afloat during the economic pause ensued by pandemic COVID-19.
Every year, banks and credit unions collect billions of dollars in overdraft and NSF fees from customers. Overdraft fees are charged when a financial institution claims a customer’s account is overdrawn, covers payment of the item and then charges a fee – usually wholly unrelated to the actual overdraft. An NSF fee is charged when the financial institution returns a check or electronic transaction (ACH) due to a customer’s insufficient funds.
While overdraft and NSF fees were a hardship for many consumers and small businesses under normal circumstances, they have become even more difficult for customers to manage during COVID-19, while the nation’s economy is at much of a standstill. In the time that the pandemic has impacted the country, most non-essential businesses have closed, resulting in layoffs and a complete loss of income for several million Americans.
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“In this stalled economy, the consumers and small businesses already struggling cannot be looked at to maintain profits for these banks and credit unions, the same of which were provided $34 billion in profits last year,” commented Founding Partner Richard McCune, who leads the firm’s overdraft class action practice. “MWA stands ready to assist customers of banks and credit unions that ignore the plight of their already vulnerable consumers.”
