Ent Credit Union accused of improper overdraft fees

Ent Credit Union in Colorado was named in a class-action lawsuit which alleges the credit union organized debit transactions in a way to charge their customers more overdraft fees.

Frank D. Azar & Associates filed the complaint Monday in Denver on behalf of plaintiffs in Colorado and Texas. It’s not clear how much money the class-action suit is seeking.

The lawsuit says that Ent Credit Union would approve debit transactions while funds were available in customers’ accounts, but they wouldn’t process the transactions until later. That’s a standard process used by many banks, but the lawsuit claims some customers were hit with excess fees because of “intervening transactions.”

For example, if your debit transaction was approved but then a check was cleared on the account exceeding the available balance before the transaction was processed, you’d then be charged $25 overdraft fees on both transactions.

“The credit union uses a ‘secret batch posting process’ to submit the same debit card transaction twice for payment. This secret step allows it to charge overdraft fees on transactions that never should have gotten them,” according to a release from Azar’s office.

The complaint also says Ent customers would be charged multiple fees for the same transaction, which is allegedly contrary to the company’s deposit agreement.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.