TD Bank Charges Double Fees for Out-of-Network ATM Balance Inquiries, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action claims that TD Bank has breached its contracts with customers by charging more than one out-of-network fee for a balance inquiry during a single ATM transaction.

The 19-page lawsuit alleges that although TD Bank represents in its contracts that it will charge a $3.00 out-of-network fee for each cash withdrawal or balance inquiry at a non-TD ATM, the bank improperly assesses double out-of-network fees for a single balance inquiry during the same ATM visit.

The lawsuit was filed by an Asbury Park, New Jersey resident who claims to have been assessed multiple out-of-network fees by TD Bank when he used a third-party ATM operated by FCTI, Inc. at a 7-Eleven store. According to the suit, although the FCTI ATM screen interface allows customers to request only a single balance inquiry per transaction, TD Bank assesses two out-of-network fees each time a customer makes a balance inquiry using the machine.

The lawsuit relays that all FCTI ATMs located in 7-Eleven stores have the same screen interface, which begins by asking a customer if they would like to view their account balance. Upon pressing “Yes,” the customer can select an account, and the machine will display the balance information for the selected account, the suit says. Per the case, TD Bank assesses a $3.00 out-of-network fee for this portion of the transaction, which the plaintiff does not dispute.

The suit says the customer is then asked if they would like to print the balance information that is already displayed on the screen and proceed to a cash withdrawal. According to the complaint, the customer can either select “Continue,” which is the only way to proceed to a cash withdrawal, or “Cancel,” which will terminate the ATM transaction.

The lawsuit argues that this second prompt “cannot possibly be considered a balance inquiry” given the customer is not requesting any additional information. The suit alleges, however, that when a customer selects “Continue,” TD Bank assesses a second $3.00 out-of-network fee for a single balance inquiry.

“By pressing the ‘Continue’ button, as Plaintiff did, the only instruction any customer could have possibly given through the Second Fee Prompt is a request to print the balance information for the exact same account that was already inquired, paid for, and is currently displayed on the screen,” the complaint expounds.

According to the suit, third-party ATM operators such as FCTI are incentivized to design their ATMs in a way that results in “unwarranted” out-of-network transactions given that banks pay them a portion of the out-of-network fees in the form of interchange fees.

The lawsuit claims TD Bank is well aware that its customers have been charged double out-of-network fees at these types of ATMs for more than four years. Nevertheless, the bank has “done nothing” to assure that its customers are not being charged for balance inquiries they never requested, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit looks to represent all TD Bank checking accountholders in the U.S. who, within the applicable statute of limitations, were assessed multiple out-of-network fees for a balance inquiry of the same account during a single ATM visit.

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