Consumer complaint received 2016-04-14
Product: Bank account or service — Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management — 
Company: U.S. BANCORP (NY)

I signed up for and began using a new US Bank checking account in XXXX XXXX. I was mostly pleased with the service. However, recently, I have noticed that I am being charged fees that I did not originally agree to when I signed up for services. I have contacted US Bank regarding these illegal fees, and they have chosen to ignore my messages. 

To prove my point, I have uploaded images of the account sign up process, including all account agreements and pages wherein one signs up for an account, opts out of " overdraft coverage '' and enrolls in the " overdraft protection '' service. I uploaded the contents to a website currently under development, XXXX Such a comparison is probably too nice, however, because XXXX XXXX actually disclosed his fees in the agreement fine print ; US Bank, however, did not. 

Inside the overdraft section of the account agreement it states : " ATM and Debit Card Overdraft Coverage : Certain accounts are subject to a consumer 's election/choice to opt-in to receive ATM and Debit Card Overdraft Coverage. '' ... " If you do not opt-in, we will not authorize payment of an ATM or everyday ( non-recurring ) debit card transaction that could result in an overdraft status. In limited circumstances, your ATM or every day debit card transaction may be processed and your account results in a negative available balance, even if you have not opted-in to overdraft coverage for these transactions. These situations may include, but are not limited to, debit card transactions that post that are processed by the merchant when the merchant does not first obtain an authorization from U.S. Bank. If this situation occurs, you will not be charged an Overdraft Paid Fee for paying the transaction if you have not elected to Opt-In to ATM and Debit Card Overdraft Coverage. '' The " overdraft solutions '' section of my online account has always stated that I have been opted out of " overdraft coverage '' this entire time, yet they have charged me several overdraft paid fees for ATM check ( debit ) card transactions. 

Reviewing the entire account agreement does not reveal that the account owner must pay a {$36.00} overdraft paid fee ( when fully Opted Out of overdraft coverage and opted into overdraft protection ) for ATM and everyday check ( debit ) card transactions. The " overdraft protection '' section in the account agreement does not state that enrolling in " overdraft protection '' automatically enrolls one into or overrides the account owner 's " overdraft coverage '' choice, either. 

After signing up for an account, if one " opts out '' of overdraft coverage and signs up for the " overdraft protection '' service ( XXXX ), they are led to believe that doing so will completely avoid {$36.00} " overdraft paid '' fees for ATM and everyday check card transactions. Under the " Overdraft Protection '' and " Opt-out '' columns in the " How much does it cost? '' ( XXXX ) row, no {$36.00} overdraft paid fees for ATM and everyday check ( debit ) card transactions are mentioned. It does, however, mention such a fee in the leftmost " Opt-In '' column for overdraft coverage. It is reasonable to infer that US Bank specifically chose to avoid mentioning the {$36.00} overdraft paid fees for ATM / debit card transactions in the " overdraft protection '' column as doing so would most certainly deter a large number of people, including myself, from signing up for the service. 

However, avoiding mention of these fees is certainly illegal as they are not outlined anywhere during the account sign up process, account agreement or " overdraft solutions '' section. 

Thus, it took me by complete surprise ( as it should have ) when I incurred XXXX {$36.00} " overdraft paid '' fees on XXXX XXXX after an {$85.00} charge was attempted on my debit card