Banks are known to unfairly charge their customers "extortionate fees" so that a lot of people are having a hard time saving money. These fees also po...
Banks are known to unfairly charge their customers "extortionate fees" so that a lot of people are having a hard time saving money. These fees also potentially drive many customers even deeper into debt. A lot of people may not be aware but you can actually be compensated for these charges.
How to Tell If you’ve been Deceived
There are certain indications that can help you identify if a bank’s practice is indeed unfair or deceptive. According to the FDIC,
an act may be categorized as both unfair and deceptive but there are separate standards for unfair acts and deceptive practices.
A practice is considered deceptive if, the ambiguity of the way a service or product is presented resulted in a customer’s misinterpretation of the provisions of said service or product.
An act is also considered deceptive if it is misleading or has the potential to mislead consumers. Provisions for a certain service have the potential to mislead if they are not qualified adequately. And third, a practice, omission or representation is considered deceptive if it influences the behavior of a consumer towards a product or service.
Standards for considering an act to be unfair are the following:
• The act must bring about or has the potential to bring about injury which in most cases has something to do with financial trouble.
• The harm caused by the act cannot reasonably be avoided meaning the customer was given no opportunity to prevent the situation from happening.
• The harm caused by the act outweighs the benefits of such acts.
Regulating Laws
There are a few laws that regulate such practices and because these are rules of law, banks that have been found to be in violation may be held liable. Customers may be awarded compensation but how much exactly may vary depending on each individual case.
The FTC Act is one law that regulates the practices of banking institutions. The Truth in Savings Act obligates banks to disclose any fees to be charged on customers’ accounts as well as the conditions under which these fees are enforceable.
The Truth in Lending Act states that banks must inform their customers of any fees that may result from an extension of credit.
Claiming Process
If you believe that you’ve been subjected to misleading practices such as unfair bank charges, you can get in touch with your bank and settle this matter with them directly. Should the bank prove to be uncooperative, you may ask the Federal Reserve for help.
Banks are under the jurisdiction of different regulators and the Federal Reserve will contact whichever agency is in charge of regulating the bank that you have done business with. If the bank is regulated by the Federal Reserve then they will conduct the investigation themselves. The Federal Reserve will then ask for all relevant information regarding your complaint from the bank as well as any other necessary information from you.
You will then be informed if the bank is found to be in violation of laws, which could take 30 days to several months depending on the complexity of the situation.
