Harleysville National Bank
P.O. Box 195
Harleysville, PA, 19438
RE: Illegal fees for 'Free' Checking account: XXXXXXXXXX
Dear Harleysville National Bank,
On June 6th in your Lehighton, Pennsylvania branch I was told my account had a negative balance. I asked how this could happen and why my debit card didn't simply cease to function instead of allowing me to pay with money I don't have. It was explained to me that I have a protection feature and can spend up to $750 of money I don't have. I then asked if I would be charged any fees. I was told no. Consistent with this representation, your teller did not charge me any fees for activating my protection feature on June 6th. I made a $300 deposit and negative balance then became a positive $269.24. I was clearly led to believe that your protection feature was free.
Inconsistently, illegaly, and to my surprise, you subsequently charged my account $595.00 in fees for your 'free' protection feature for $379.22 of merchandise from June 18th to June 25th.
Although I had not recieved a copy of your 'Truth in Savings Disclosure', the document you should have mailed me clearly states that the notice I receive will show 'the OD fee'. (Page 1 of the Bounce Protection' section). However, the notices you mailed me do not list any such fee. For example, your June 22 notice states'We have charged your account $70.00. Your current balance, after charges and paid items is $590.24-. Check# Amount $21.97 Check# Amount $3.70.' This ambiguous notice does not indicate that I incurred a fee of any kind. Moreover, assumming arguendo that I knew 'the OD fee' incurred, it's still unclear which part of the listed sums are 'the OD fee'. Should I conclude by subtraction that 'The OD fee' is the total amount you charged my account ($70.00) minus $21.97 minus $3.70 equals a $44.33 'The OD fee'. Or perhaps is $70.00 simply 'The OD fee'. No where in your 'Truth in Savings Disclosure' is any mention of either or a $44.33 or a $70.00 fee.
Had I received your 'Truth in Savings Disclosure' I would have expected to pay only one single $35.00 fee for 'Bounce Protection Activation', as listed in your illegal 'Current Charges For Bank Services' fee schedule. The fact that only a single fee would be charged is consistent with the singularity of the phrase 'The OD fee'. However, it's not reasonable for me to assume that Overdraft Activation is the same as 'The OD fee' anyway. Your fee schedule does not list 'The OD fee', rather it makes reference to an Activation fee-as if the $35.00 fee would only be charged once to activate the service. The term Activation Fee has a similar one time or singular meaning in the financial industry. A credit card activation fee is charged only once ' would you expect a consumer to pay a $35.00 activation fee each and every time a consumer uses a credit card?
This is the reason that both 12 C.F. R Pt. 230, App. B (Fee schedule Insert) and 'Form B-5' Sample Form (New Account)' list the overdraft fee as 'per check'. I have attached copies of these two model forms your review as contained in the federal regulations.
I have included a money order for $419.22 which includes the $379.22 of actual merchandise, and good faith effort to pay a one time activation fee of $35.00 plus $5.00 to make the balance a positive $5.00. I expect the $5.00 to be credited towards a positive balance, not towards your illegal fees.
If you fail to remove these illegal fees from my account I will post this letter to online forums, including usacomplaints.com so other decieved consumers may have the benefit of my analysis. Besides this unique deception in your fee schedule, my rally will include many other typical legal challenges to bank fees, including, but not limit to, your fees being unconscionable as a matter of law, Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, violations of OCC regulations ' which might even be a per se violation of state UDAP, estopple, breach of contract, and 12 C.F.R. 7.4002 (a). All these legal challenges have been used against national banks succesfully - and apply in this case.
Of course, you could just as well reverse the fees merely to keep me as a customer.in March I'll need a new car loan and you would get more money back in interest anyway.
Xxxxx xxxxxxx
Encl:
12 C.F. R Pt. 230, App. B (Fee schedule Insert) and 'Form B-5' Sample Form (New Account)'
Money order for $419.22.
(Footnote) Smith v. Wells Fargo Bank, 135 Cal. App 4th 1463,38 Cal. Rptr 3d 653,672 WL 3588442 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist), Smith v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 06 s.O.S. 425.
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