Wells Fargo to Pay for Unfair Overdraft Fees
SAN FRANCISCO, (KCBS)_ A federal judge has ruled that Wells Fargo must pay customers more than $200 million in unfair overdraft fees.
The San Francisco-based bank was accused of manipulating debit card transactions to maximize the fees it charged.
Three customers filed suit against Wells Fargo in 2007 on behalf of thousands of Californians.
The complaint was about Wells Fargo's practice of ordering debits to checking accounts from the highest dollar amount down to the lowest and the consequences that had on the frequency in which they imposed overdraft fees.
Attorney Richard Heimann who represents the plaintiffs in this case says customers could incur multiple overdraft fees in one day, which may not have happened if the largest transactions were processed last.
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Heimann added that Wells Fargo has made a lot of money processing transactions this way.
He claimed that in a period of three years they've made well in excess of a billion dollars in California alone. This is in contrast to what they would have obtained in terms of overdraft fees had they done it in a more "appropriate fashion" .
The judge ruled the bank manipulated the way it processes transactions for the purpose of maximizing its fees and that Wells Fargo must pay California customers $203 million.
Richele Messick, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, said in a statement that the bank intends to appeal.
