Fifth Third Bank Charges ‘Unfair’ Fees When Customers Deposit Bad Checks, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action claims Fifth Third Bank unfairly charges customers a $15 fee when they deposit a bad check.

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The 20-page lawsuit alleges that the bank’s blanket policy of imposing a “return deposit item fee” on bounced or unpaid checks is “predatory,” especially since depositors often have no way of knowing whether a check they had “no hand in issuing” is faulty.

“In fact, these fees are nothing more than veiled revenue-generating tools that penalize innocent depositors for the actions of others,” the case stresses, claiming that $15 far exceeds the actual cost Fifth Third incurs to process a returned check.

The plaintiffs, three Fifth Third accountholders, say they were “shocked” that the defendant had charged them $15 when checks they attempted to deposit were returned unpaid because the customers had done nothing wrong and could not have done anything to avoid the fee.

“By contrast, the bank maintains highly sophisticated systems for clearing checks and knows, or should know, when the person that wrote the check does not have sufficient funds to cover the check or has access to the reasons that the check may not otherwise be valid,” the complaint contends.

The filing explains that a check could also bounce if the check writer issued a stop payment order, if it’s written against a closed or foreign account or if there exists “even a minor” discrepancy on the check itself.

Although nearly all of these factors are outside the control of the depositor, Fifth Third assesses a return deposit item fee regardless of the circumstances, the lawsuit argues.

The case notes that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a bulletin in October 2022 stating that it is likely unfair and unlawful under federal law for a financial institution to maintain a blanket policy in which it issues return deposit item fees irrespective of the origin of the check, the cause of its return or patterns of behavior on the account.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who, during the applicable statute of limitations period, had a Fifth Third Bank account and was charged a return deposit item fee by the bank.

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