Banking Fraud Class Action Attorney Serving California and Nationwide
We trust our financial institutions not only to hold our money but to respect the rule of law and our rights as customers and consumers. Unfortunately, many banks take advantage of gaps in oversight and a lack of transparency about just what it is that they do, and what we end up paying for. Banks around the country, big and small, have been hit with lawsuits alleging they charge hidden fees, start paid accounts without telling customers, and bait-and-switch the terms on loans and accounts in order to secretly wring more money out of unsuspecting consumers. This kind of behavior should not be allowed to stand.
The Kalfayan Law Firm is a leading defender of consumers in California and across the country. We go toe-to-toe with product manufacturers, corporations, and financial institutions, from local banks to international corporations. If you find out you’re being charged more than you expected, or if you have any other reason to believe you’ve been subjected to unlawful banking practices, you have the right to hold those institutions accountable. Moreover, it’s very likely you are not alone. When dozens or thousands of people have suffered just like you, you might have grounds to bring a class action on behalf of everyone else injured.
Whether you have an individual complaint about banking fraud or you have suffered harm similar to dozens, hundreds, or thousands of other fraud victims, the Kalfayan Law Firm can help you seek compensation and justice. For help in California or nationwide, call our office in Del Mar just north of San Diego for a free consultation at 619-232-0331.
Unfair and Illegal Banking Practices
Financial institutions are subject to several state and federal regulations that dictate how they are allowed to treat their customers. Banks owe fiduciary duties of honesty and transparency to their customers, and they are not allowed to violate those duties to make an extra buck.
At the Kalfayan Law Firm, we help consumers taken in by deceptive, unfair, and fraudulent conduct committed by financial institutions. Some of the more common unfair and unlawful tactics used by banks to steal from their customers include the following:
- Hidden Fees. Banks must be up-front about fees associated with accounts, credit cards, etc. They cannot tack on new fees that you don’t see until the bill shows up or notice until after you’ve been paying them for months.
- Bait & Switch. Sellers of products or services cannot conduct schemes in which they advertise a cheaper or better product to get the customer in the door, and then trick the customer into buying a more expensive or inferior product.
- Changing Interest Rate. Banks and lenders cannot alter the interest rate on debt without notice and following the proper channels.
- Intentional Late Fees. Financial institutions can charge late fees for delayed payments, but they cannot set up schemes that intentionally cause customers to pay late. For example, a bank cannot set the due date on a non-business day so that an on-time payment is processed late and incurs a fee, nor can they intentionally delay posting a payment in order to trigger a late fee.
- Double-Charging. Companies cannot double-charge customers for a single transaction.
- Hidden Accounts. Consumers discovered that major banks like Wells Fargo were signing up customers for new accounts without their knowledge, and then charging monthly account fees to those customers for accounts they didn’t even know they had.
- Other Unauthorized Charges. Banks cannot conduct transactions without the customer’s knowledge or consent and then charge the customer for those transactions, or charge the customer for products or services they did not intend to purchase (for example, unauthorized payment protection services).
Holding Financial Institutions Accountable
If you have been tricked into paying more than you should have by a bank or other financial institution, you were likely not the only one. These claims can be difficult to pursue on an individual basis because you might only have been overcharged by a few hundred dollars or less. But when these corporations conduct this type of fraud on a state-wide or national level, they can wind up stealing millions and millions of dollars from unsuspecting consumers. That’s where class action comes into play.
At the Kalfayan Law Firm, our banking fraud class action team takes your claim and finds other people just like you who have been defrauded or deceived by unscrupulous financial institutions. We’ll build your case into a class action designed to stop these banks from continuing their fraudulent behavior, protecting you and everyone else like you. If you are one of the primary or “named” plaintiffs in a class action, you could be entitled to substantial financial relief. Talk to a consumer fraud class action attorney at the Kalfayan Law Firm to discuss your case and how you can help obtain justice and compensation for yourself and other defrauded consumers.
Call a Banking Fraud Class Action Lawyer at the Kalfayan Law Firm Today
For help with banking fraud, deceptive practices, or consumer fraud class action claims in California or nationwide, contact the Kalfayan Law Firm in San Diego/Del Mar for a free consultation. We represent local individual plaintiffs and pursue class action litigation throughout the country with commitment and dedication to seeing the case through to the end.
