Credit Union Excessive Fees Lawsuits Could Be “Tip of the Iceberg”

January 14, 2016, 10:30AM. By Gordon Gibb

Lakeland, FLCredit 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.