Bank of America is the recent target of a new class-action lawsuit accusing the banking giant of holding customer deposits past availability, resulting in improper fees and a loss of interest from the alleged delays.
Plaintiff Jin Choi on behalf of herself and potentially millions of others, filed a complaint Nov. 11 in Cook County Circuit Court accusing Bank of America of withholding deposit funds unusually long, causing delays in the availability of funds, a loss of interest, plus improper fees assessed against accounts.
A publicly traded company, BOA boasts nearly $2.5 trillion in assets making it the second largest bank in the world. According to BOA's own advertisements, it has 68 million consumer and business account holders in the U.S. While the exact number of class action members could be determined through BOA records, plaintiffs estimated they could number in the millions of additional plaintiffs.
BOA makes contractual service agreements with its account holders that are valid and enforceable. Under their agreement, BOA promises that it would "generally" make funds of up to $5,524 available the next business day from check deposits. Withholding funds would fall under certain limited circumstances.
The suit is alleging that BOA breached its contractual agreement, making it a routine, rather than an exception, to withhold funds for longer, even after funds cleared. The suit suggests that this practice took the time value of the money away from account holders, allegedly making funds available instead for BOA's benefit.
It's believed that interest that was allegedly earned through the improper use of account holder funds, potentially amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
The lack of funds availability according to the plaintiff's personal experience, amounted to improper fees imposed on her account. In an unrelated note, BOA announced in September that it planned to reduce overdraft fees and eliminate fees for insufficient funds altogether in response to industry trends.
The lawsuit alleges BOA engaged in deceptive trade practices with regard to withholding funds past availability, a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. According to the lawsuit, BOA likely knew that its alleged promises regarding funds availability were a strong selling point for consumers.
The Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial, unspecified damages for the difference in the real value of funds between the date of deposit and when they became availabe, payment of any interest that would have been earned on class members accounts through the alleged improper withholding practices by BOA, interest on damages at a rate of 6% annually, and legal costs and attorney fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney William E. Meyer Jr., of the firm of Fuksa Khorshid, of Chicago.
Spokespeople for Bank of America did not reply to a request for comment from The Cook County Record.