Bank of America Charges Secret Inbound Wire Transfer Fees, Class Action Says [UPDATE]
Last Updated on August 8, 2024
Aseltine v. Bank of America, N.A.
Filed: March 8, 2023 ◆§ 3:23-cv-00235
A class action lawsuit claims Bank of America has concealed that it charges a $15 fee when a personal accountholder receives wired funds into their account.
North Carolina
August 7, 2024 – Bank of America Wire Transfer Fee Settlement Website Is Live
The official website for the $21 million Bank of America wire transfer fee settlement is live and can be found at BANAWireTransferFeeSettlement.com.
Eligible class members do not have to do anything to receive class action settlement benefits. According to the settlement website, current Bank of America accountholders will automatically receive a credit to their accounts, and former accountholders will receive payment by check.
A final approval hearing is set for the Bank of America settlement on October 21, 2024. If the deal is approved, and provided there are no appeals or objections to the settlement terms, payments will be made to class members within approximately 45 to 60 days following the judge’s final approval order.
Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.
May 30, 2024 – Bank of America Wire Transfer Fee Lawsuit Settled for $21 Million
Bank of America has agreed to pay $21 million to settle the proposed class action lawsuit detailed on this page, according to memo in support of an unopposed motion for preliminary settlement approval submitted to the court on May 24, 2024.
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If approved by the court, the proposed deal would cover anyone in the United States who opened a Bank of America consumer checking and/or savings account on or before August 31, 2012, and paid and was not refunded an incoming wire transfer fee from March 8, 2019 through August 31, 2023.
Court documents state that the proposed settlement will provide class members with pro-rated payments proportionate to the total amount of incoming wire transfer fees that were assessed to their account(s) during the relevant time period.
Consumers covered by the settlement will not need to file a claim to receive payment, court documents state. Current accountholders will have payments automatically issued into their accounts, and former accountholders will receive their share of the putative deal via check.
ClassAction.org will update this page if and when the deal receives preliminary approval from the court, and when the official Bank of America settlement website goes live, so be sure to check back often.
Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.
May 2, 2024 – Bank of America Agrees to Settle Wire Transfer Fee Lawsuit
Bank of America has agreed to settle the proposed class action lawsuit detailed on this page.
Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.
In a notice filed on April 11, 2024, Bank of America and the plaintiff informed the court that they reached an agreement in principle to resolve their dispute on a class-wide basis. No other details of the apparent settlement are available at this time, but the court has ordered the parties to file a motion for preliminary approval of the deal by May 24, 2024.
ClassAction.org will update this page if and when more information becomes available, so be sure to check back often.
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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Bank of America has concealed that it charges a $15 fee when a personal accountholder receives wired funds into their account.
Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.
The 22-page lawsuit says that despite the bank’s contractual promise to disclose all fees, it has misled accountholders and secretly “tacked on” these incoming wire transfer charges. Per the case, these so-called “junk” fees are “unavoidable” and “deducted directly from consumer accounts without consent or notice.”
The suit shares that although Bank of America promises to "list[] the fees associated with [an] account and ways to avoid them when applicable,” none of its account documents indicate the existence of an incoming wire transfer fee or an associated charge amount, as required by federal law.
Instead of disclosing the details of the fee at issue, Bank of America “coyly” leaves it up to consumers to find out more information by speaking with a banker, the case claims. In its “Personal Schedule of Fees” document, the defendant states that it “may change the fees for wire transfers and drafts at any time” and suggests that consumers “[visit] a financial center or call us … for current fees,” the complaint relays.
Further, BoA’s “Online Banking Agreement,” which apparently provides an “all-inclusive list of fees” for every type of wire transaction, “tellingly” fails to mention a charge for incoming wire transfers, the filing contends.
“Bank of America's total exclusion of incoming wire transfers from its supposedly all-inclusive fee chart must mean one thing: there will be no fees on incoming wire transfers,” the lawsuit argues.
According to the suit, accountholders are “shocked” to learn that, without warning, they have been charged this “hefty” fee after receiving a wire deposit. In fact, the charge at issue is “especially problematic” because consumers play no part in receiving inbound transfers, which is why many banks charge no such incoming wire fee, the case explains.
“Because [the fees at issue] are a major source of income for Bank of America; because consumers assessed such fees have no control over them; and because Bank of America has hoped consumers will not notice such fees when they receive wires … Bank of America has engaged in an effort to obscure and hide the presence and amount of its Incoming Wire Transfer Fees.”
The plaintiff, a California resident and personal accountholder, received an inbound wire transfer in October 2022, the complaint says. The man was surprised to learn that, despite Bank of America’s contractual promises, he was charged $15 for the transaction without notice or consent, the filing shares.
The lawsuit looks to represent any Bank of America personal accountholders in the United States who were charged incoming wire transfer fees during the applicable statute of limitations period.
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