QUESTION
Should I dispute US bank over draft charges and are these legal?
Asked on May 29th, 2013 on Bankruptcy - North Carolina
More details to this question:
I am currently being sued by a collection agency on behalf of a bank. I over drafted my account by $7.00 and now my bill has ballooned into a $1042.00 charge. Do I have any recourse/protection from big banks, or am I stuck paying $1035.00 extra? Are these loansharking techniques still legal?
3 ANSWERS
You should meet with an attorney to review the complaint filed against you. Collection agencies often include charges that the law does not allow.
Answered on May 29th, 2013 at 10:23 PM
Debt Collection Attorney serving Chicago, IL
Partner at
Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin, LLC
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There have been a number of cases challenging overdraft charges, especially when (a) debit cards (as opposed to checks) are involved and (b) the bank debits items against your account in an order other than that in which they come, so as to increase the amount of overdraft fees. An important consideration is whether you are being sued by a debt buyer or the bank. If it is a debt buyer, they cannot prove what happened with the account and you should resist the lawsuit. An attorney would be of considerable help to you.
Answered on May 29th, 2013 at 9:57 PM
Family Law Attorney serving Durham, NC
at
Morelos Law Firm
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Unfortunately, depending on the small print of whatever credit agreement you have, between the regular high interest, typical higher default interest rates, penalty fees, collection fees, etc., it is certainly possible that most if not all of the additional fees over the actual outstanding principal is correct and thus legal. That being said, you can always try to negotiate a debt settlement, either on your behalf or with the assistance of an attorney with a minimal attorney fee to handle a few letters on your behalf. And especially if you had an overdraft issue, you can through that into the mix too. But even people have no argument at all other than they don't want to pay or can't afford to pay, negotiations can often be had. Also, the worst that can happen is that they sue you and they get a judgement against you, but you cant be arrested, they cant take your home or your car, and they can't garnish your wages. North Carolina is very debtor friendly with lots of exemption rights.
Answered on May 29th, 2013 at 9:48 PM