CHARLOTTE, N.C.–Bank of America is facing a potential class action lawsuit that alleges the bank refused to honor promises to refund overdraft fees to clients who faced financial hardship during the pandemic.
The suit has been filed by two customers who are being represented by the firm Mycko & Zavareei, LLP, which is seeking the class action status.
The plaintiffs in the case are Anthony Ramirez, a truck driver living in California, and Masako Williams, an 85-year-old retiree living in Texas, who are alleging they asked the bank to refund them for several hundred dollars’ worth of overdraft and nonsufficient funds fees (NSF) that they were charged in 2020 and 2021 when they experienced a lack of work for themselves or the family members that support them.
As CUToday.info reported in early 2020, as the pandemic was beginning Bank of America announced it would provide needy customers with financial assistance and would further refund certain overdraft and NSF fees, allegations that are included in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California.
A Bank of America spokesperson told Reuters he could not comment on the case directly, but added the bank "provided tens of millions of dollars in fee waivers during the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Allegations of Denials
According to the lawsuit, however, Ramirez and Williams have alleged bank representatives repeatedly denied their refund requests and that it appeared the bank did not have an adequate system in place to grant the refund.
For example, Williams was once denied a refund by a bank representative who said "the computer program used would not allow" it, according to the lawsuit.
"Bank of America told people, 'If you have a problem, call us and we will refund your overdraft fees,'" Hassan Zavareei, a founding partner of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Tycko & Zavareei, told Reuters in an interview.
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