Bank of America is facing a $21 million settlement that could help consumers who had checking or savings accounts and were charged fees for normal activities.
Some customers could get money from this settlement, but they have to have been Bank of America customers with a checking and/or savings account between March 8, 2019, and August 31, 2023, in order to be qualified.
Understanding Class Action Settlements
If we want to understand the case, we must first understand what it is all about. With class action cases, a lot of people, or “classes,” can take their problems to court together.
One or a few people usually start these kinds of lawsuits when they say that a company has harmed a larger group. Once a case is labeled as a class action, it includes all “class members” who have similar complaints.
Companies often choose to settle these lawsuits rather than go to court for a long time and pay a lot of money to do so. People in the class generally get money as part of these settlements, and in exchange, they give up their right to take further legal action.
Settlements usually include the company denying any wrongdoing. They are seen more as a way to keep companies in line than as real money to make up for the loss. Class lawsuits are often brought about by problems like pollution, discrimination, and false advertising.
Eligibility for the Bank of America Settlement
Tech.co stated that customers must have been charged certain wire transfer fees on incoming payments in order to be eligible for the Bank of America settlement. This is because each lawsuit is different. What this means is that customers must have gotten a wire transfer and paid a $15 fee for it during the time period given.
Bank of America is being sued by a group of people who say the bank “violated account agreements and charged a hidden fee” for these incoming wire transfers that customers were never told about. The lawsuit also says that Bank of America “purposefully concealed these transactions without consent” and that they should give refunds in these situations.
It is still unknown if customers who are affected will get refunds for each transaction that cost $15 or if Bank of America will give all qualified customers the same amount of money all at once.
Also, about a third of the $21 million settlement will go to paying for lawyers’ fees. This means that, based on the transaction and number of plaintiffs, there may not be enough money to pay back everyone.
How to Receive Your Settlement
For customers who are qualified, getting the settlement is easy. The case Aaron Aseltine v. Bank of America, N.A. says that people who are affected don’t need to do anything else and “will receive a Settlement Class Member Payment from the Settlement Fund so long as [they] do not opt-out of the Settlement.” Customers have until September 21, 2024, to opt out of or object to the deal.
If they do, they will still be able to take more action against the bank. Tuesday, October 23, 2024, at 9:15 a.m. ET, there will be the final approval hearing for the settlement. After this date, people who are qualified should get their settlement payments. People who are currently customers of Bank of America will get their share as a bank credit, and people who used to be customers will get a check in the mail.
Customer Reactions
Customer reactions have been all over the place. One X user was happy and wrote, “Love it when a settlement check comes in the mail!!” Make sure they have the right address and way to pay you.
“Amen!” On the other hand, one user wasn’t as excited and said, “I just hate when my cut is sooooo small…”In the past few years, I’ve gotten ones from Bank of America and ATT. SMH. “It cost more to mail and print the check than my share of the settlement,” with a crying laughing emoji.