RALEIGH, N.C.–North Carolina’s attorney general, Josh Stein, is urging the state’s Supreme Court to not allow a credit union to change the terms of a contract in a case involving overdraft fees.
In the case now before the state’s Supreme Court, Canteen v. Charlotte Metro Credit Union (the credit union has since changed its name to Skyla), Stein told the court the CU should not be permitted to “unilaterally” change the terms of the contract so as to prohibit the plaintiff from suing over the overdraft fees, saying Charlotte Metro/Skyla “should not be allowed to change its contract with a customer by adding new and unexpected contract terms to gain a legal and financial advantage.”
In this case, Pamela Phillips, a member with Charlotte Metro/Skyla, sued the credit union alleging unauthorized overdraft fees on her account.
‘Tried to Block Lawsuit’
“The credit union tried to block the lawsuit from being heard in court by adding two new pages of terms to its original contract with Phillips,” the attorney general’s office said. “The credit union argued that those new terms required her to arbitrate her claims to privately resolve them instead of allowing a court to hear the case.”
Stein told the Supreme Court the law limits the credit union’s ability to change a contract with a member after a member accepts the original contract and that the credit union exceeded those limits in this case. As a result, Stein is arguing the member’s claims about being charged unauthorized overdraft fees should be heard in court.
‘Every Dollar Matters’
“Every dollar matters for North Carolinians working to pay bills and provide for their families,” said Stein in a statement. “This person alleges that her credit union unfairly charged her extra fees. She deserves to have her case heard in court; companies cannot unilaterally change their contracts to strip their customers of their substantive rights.”
A copy of the brief is available here.
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