Bank of America ordered to pay customers $100 million for illegal fees, fake accounts

Bank of America has been ordered to pay more than $100 million to customers for overcharging insufficient fund fees, withholding reward bonuses, and opening accounts without customers’ knowledge or permission. BOA has to pay an additional $150 million in penalties for those same violations.

On Tuesday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that an investigation found that Bank of America, over several years,  harmed hundreds of thousands of their customers across multiple product lines with these illegal practices. Consequently, the bank was ordered to pay more than $100 million to customers and an additional $90 million in penalties. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency added another fine of $60 million for violating overdraft fee laws.

Rohit Chopra, (CFPB Director) told NPR Business Correspondent David Gura, “Building a business model by double dipping on fees is simply not legal, and that’s why we’ve sanctioned Bank of America and ordered them to pay back the customers they cheated.”

“Overdraft programs should help, not harm, consumers,” Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu said in a news release. “Today’s action demonstrates the OCC’s commitment to protecting consumers and promoting fairness and trust in banking. We expect banks to conduct their activities in compliance with all applicable laws and standards, and when they don’t, we will act accordingly.”