Maloney’s Overdraft Bill Re-Introduced
It’s had three different numbers over the last few years, but it’s chances of actually getting passed are now better than ever. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (who we interviewed for the film) re-introduced her Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act in the new Congress a week and a half ago and it’s moving through the pipeline.
So call your representative and tell them to get on board. Enough helping the banks, it’s time to help the people!
You can track the bill’s progress on Thomas. It’s HR 1456 this time around.
Also, if you’re on Change.org, you can send a letter to your representative in about five seconds.
Overdraft Class Actions
This hasn’t made the mainstream press much, probably because it’s been drowned out by bigger stories, but Bank of America settled an overdraft class action lawsuit for $35 million in September of last year. I’m going to call the attorneys and B of A next week and update this entry with more info, but what you need to know for now is that the deadline to join the class is May 1, 2009. Go here to find out if you qualify (and file a claim online), but if you were a B of A customer from 2000 to 2007 and paid any overdraft fees, you’re in. The maximum payout is $78, but it takes less than a minute to fill out the form.
A similar lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo, which is scheduled to go to trial in June in California. The most exciting thing about these cases is that, regardless of B of A’s legal mumbo jumbo about not accepting responsibilty, the fact that they settled the case shows that they know the legal landscape is changing and that they’re on shaky ground. The days of running roughshod over customers and posting obscene profits are over. Whether they like it or not, the regulatory leash that they’ve been used to, so long as to be almost useless under the Republicans, is finally getting shorter.
More soon, but go fill out the form and get your cut. $78 may not be much, but it sure feels good to get your hands back on some of your money that they stole from you…