SAN ANTONIO– A lawsuit has been filed against Generations FCU over its overdraft fee practices, with attorneys for the plaintiff indicating they may seek class action status. The suit is similar to those that have targeted other credit unions.
In the suit, Shanika Harrison of Bexar County, Texas, alleges Generations charged her checking account a fee when it rejected a payment for insufficient funds in the account, and then again each time it reprocessed the transaction, according to the San Antonio Express News.
The Express News reported that Harrison offered as an example an $83.12 payment she attempted to make to online lender CreditNinja on Oct. 9, 2024. Generations rejected payment because of insufficient funds and charged her a $28 fee, she is alleging, according to the report.
‘Rejected Again’
“Unbeknownst to her…Generations reprocessed the payment and rejected it again on Oct. 23, charging a second $28 fee,” the suit alleges, according to the Express News. “Two days later, she says, Generations reprocessed the item and charged her a third $28 fee after it was once again rejected.
“In sum, Defendant charged Plaintiff $84 in fees on an item that Plaintiff only submitted for payment once,” Harrison further alleges in the complaint. “Reasonable consumers understand any given authorization for payment to be one, singular ‘item’ for a single charge … when the item is submitted for payment by the accountholder only once.”
Harrison called Generations’ fee policies and practices “unconscionable and deceptive,” the Express News reported.
Seeking Class Action
Harrison is requesting certification of her suit as a class action, saying the class consists of “thousands of members.” Generations had about 47,000 members and $738 million in assets as of March 31, according to its 5300 call report.
The plaintiff is suing Generations for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and violation of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and is seeking more than $1 million in damages, the report added.
Additional Litigation
The suit is not the only recent litigation filed against Generations FCU. As the CU Daily reported here, former executive with Generations FCU claims alleged affairs by the CU’s former CEO and president–who resigned in 2024–stymied her professional advancement.
