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Wells Fargo Bank charges bogus overdraft fees to customers whose accounts have gone into garnishment to increase their own profits, according to a class action lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County Court.
“Wells Fargo takes advantage of the financial turmoil created by garnishment and targets the weakest customers at a time when they are most vulnerable by mixing legitimate Overdraft Fees with bogus Overdraft Fees in order to generate additional profit for itself,” the Wells Fargo Bank class action lawsuit states.
“Wells Fargo knowingly and intentionally engages in illegal debt collection and exploitation of vulnerable adults by seizing exempt funds to pay for alleged legal processing services. Specifically, Wells Fargo deducts from the garnished accounts a $100 ‘Legal Order Processing Fee’ and it charges ‘Overdraft/Unavailable Funds Fees’ for every transaction on the garnished accounts during the pendency of the garnishment,” the Wells Fargo overdraft fee class action lawsuit says.
Unlike most situations, account holders are unaware of the effective date of a garnishment order, resulting in their funds being frozen without notice. This means any outstanding checks at the time of garnishment will bounce, creating multiple overdraft fees in addition to the $100 Legal Order Processing Fee that Wells Fargo first takes from the funds in the account.
In addition to charging garnished account holders a $35 overdraft fee for each outstanding draft or withdrawal, Wells Fargo also charges its customers a $35 overdraft fee each time that money is deposited into a garnished account. This is the issue the Wells Fargo class action takes aim at. According to the lawsuit, overdraft fees cannot by lawfully charged by Wells Fargo when funds are deposited into a garnished account.
The Wells Fargo garnished account class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all Wells Fargo customers who, during the relevant time period, had a checking or savings account garnished and were charged overdraft fees for deposits made into the account during the garnishment period. It is asking that Wells Fargo refund all overdraft fees it charged for deposits made into class members’ garnished accounts during the relevant class period.
A copy of the Wells Fargo Bank Garnishment Overdraft Fee Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.
Updated March 2nd, 2010
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5 thoughts onWells Fargo Garnished Account Overdraft Fee Class Action
I want in on the overdraft fee lawsuit with Wells Fargo
I was not given a current document indicating the actions which Wells Fargo took on behalf of my account by garnishing a $124 legal processing fee. I’m not working right now – and is barely making ends meet. How can a working class citizen pay these bank fees to these establisbments who have taken advantage of every American Citizen – to make these banks richer. I do beleive our ancestors had it right, put your money in your own safe – and not in banks.
I have not heard anymore on the lawsuit against Wells Fargo do you happen to know what is going on?
I witnessed a $12 charge be removed from my bank on the day I made it. Two weeks later my account was down to $6. On that day the same $12 fee was removed from the original posting day and re applied to create an overdraft on that day. I have totaled $500 or so wrongful fees from Wells Fargo.
wells fargo has done this to me many times