MB Financial in Chicago has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that it runs a “predatory" overdraft fee program.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois by customer Rhonda Boone, alleges that she was the victim of "crushing and punitive" fee policies. Boone claims that she accumulated $6,000 in overdraft fees from 2015 to 2017, an amount equal to nearly 18% of her total income over that span.
MB charges an initial $37 overdraft fee, then another $6.50 “continuous day overdraft” charge for customers who do not bring their balances into positive status within two days. The lawsuit claims that the second fee is charged sooner than the company states.
MB did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The plaintiff is seeking damages for improperly assessed fees.
Banks have been hammered in recent years for their overdraft practices. Several years ago, a number of institutions settled a massive federal class action that accused them of reordering debit card transactions to maximize fees charged to retail customers.
