| Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act |
Hidden overdraft fees are becoming an increasing problem for bank customers. I first introduced legislation to deal with overdraft fees in the 108th Congress, reintroduced overdraft reform legislation in the 109th and 110th Congress, and plan to reintroduce my bill in the 111th Congress.
My bill, the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act, (H.R. 946 in the 110th Congress) would require notice to customers when an ATM or point-of-sale debit card transaction was about to trigger an overdraft and would give consumers a choice to accept the overdraft service, and the associated fee, or not. This legislation also requires disclosure of the terms and charges associated with an overdraft program and an opportunity for account holders to opt in, that is, to choose to have an overdraft plan or not. This bill is modeled on the successful legislation requiring disclosure at ATMs, when an ATM transaction triggers a fee. Just as individuals may choose the convenience of withdrawals from an ATM, so they may choose the convenience of overdraft protection – but they deserve to know what the cost of that service is.
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