TD Bank Settles for $75M Over Debit Card Overdraft Fees
A $70 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against TD Bank. The class action lawsuit alleged that TD Bank, Carolina First Bank, and Mercantile Bank, a brand name of Carolina First Bank used in Florida, assessed Overdraft Fees in a manner inconsistent with customer account agreements and applicable laws. The Action challenges several bank practices:
- TD Bank’s practice of assessing Overdraft Fees on Personal and Business Accounts based on the Account’s Available Balance rather than its Ledger Balance;
- TD Bank’s assessment of Overdraft Fees for ATM or One-Time Debit Card Transactions on Personal Accounts;
- TD Bank’s assessment of Sustained Overdraft Fees on Personal and Business Accounts;
- TD Bank’s assessment of Overdraft Fees for Uber or Lyft ride-sharing transactions on Personal Accounts while an account holder was not enrolled in TD Debit Card Advance; and
- Carolina First’s practices of (1) High-to-Low Posting, and (2) assessing Overdraft Fees based on the Account’s Available Balance rather than its Ledger Balance.
As it is often the case, TD Bank denies liability for each of the claims, and maintains that the challenged overdraft practices complied with customer agreements and applicable laws. The Court has not decided which side is right.
Eligibility
If you received notice of the TD Bank Settlement from a postcard or email addressed to you, then you are a member of one or more of the Settlement Classes. However, even if you did not receive a postcard or email notice of the Settlement, you may still be in the Settlement Classes, as described below. If you did not receive a postcard or email addressed to you but you believe you are a member of one or more of the Settlement Classes, as defined below, you may contact the TD Bank Overdraft Administrator.
The settlement classes (“Settlement Classes”) include:
- All holders of a TD Bank Personal Account, who, from August 16, 2010, to and including April 22, 2016, incurred one or more Overdraft Fees as a result of TD Bank’s practice of assessing Overdraft Fees based on the Account’s Available Balance rather than its Ledger Balance (“TD Available Balance Consumer Class”); and
- All holders of a Carolina First Bank/Mercantile Bank Account, who, from December 1, 2007, to and including June 20, 2011, incurred one or more Overdraft Fees as a result of Carolina First Bank’s and/or Mercantile Bank’s practices of (1) High-to-Low Posting or (2) assessing Overdraft Fees based on the Account’s Available Balance rather than its Ledger Balance (“South Financial Class”); and
- All holders of a TD Bank Personal Account who were assessed one or more Overdraft Fees for an ATM or One-Time Debit Card Transaction from August 16, 2010, to and including June 26, 2019 (“Regulation E Class”); and
- All holders of a TD Bank Personal or Business Account who, from March 8, 2013, to and including June 26, 2019, incurred one or more Sustained Overdraft Fees (“Usury Class”); and
- All holders of a TD Bank Personal Account who, from December 5, 2011, to and including June 26, 2019, incurred one or more Overdraft Fees on Uber or Lyft ride-sharing transactions while not enrolled in TD Debit Card Advance (“Uber/Lyft Class”); and
- All holders of a TD Bank Business Account who, from August 16, 2010, to and including June 26, 2019, incurred one or more Overdraft Fees as a result of TD Bank’s practice of assessing Overdraft Fees based on the Account’s Available Balance rather than its Ledger Balance (“TD Available Balance Business Class”).
Payout
The Settlement specifies that TD Bank will provide seventy million dollars ($70,000,000) to settle the Action. The $70,000,000 Settlement Amount consists of (1) forty-three million dollars ($43,000,000) in monetary compensation, and (2) twenty-seven million dollars ($27,000,000) of reductions of amounts owed to TD Bank by Settlement Class Members whose accounts were closed with negative balances. After paying certain other costs and Court-approved amounts, the Settlement Payment Amount will be distributed among members of the Settlement Classes who were assessed one or more Overdraft Fees or Sustained Overdraft Fees.
Each Settlement Class Member’s portion of the Settlement Payment Amount will depend upon the calculations determined by the allocation formulas set forth in the, Settlement Agreement. For those eligible, payment amounts will vary depending on the Class or Classes to which a Settlement Class Member belongs and the number of Overdraft Fees or Sustained Overdraft Fees assessed to the Class Member’s Account(s), and may be increased or decreased depending on the total number of claims submitted.
Settlement Class Members who currently hold TD Bank accounts will receive their portions of the Settlement Payment Amount by credits to their accounts. Settlement Class Members who no longer hold TD Bank accounts will receive their portions of the Settlement Payment Amount by check.
Settlement Info
- File claim here
- Settlement Pool: $75,000,000
- Filing Deadline: 2/7/2020
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My 170.10 check from litigation was refused by my bank .check is not valid
That’s not a good sign. Do they give you a number to call about that? I haven’t received mine yet still waiting.