Legal Question in Banking Law in Minnesota
Banking Fees
My wife and I are co-signers on our Daughters checking account with a major Banking institution because she is a manor. She made an error resulting in an NFS. She then tried to fix the account by tiring to not spend and deposit as much as she could. Problem is, she could not get ahead of the charges. When the bank called my wife with a question about the activity on the account, we found out there was an excess of 17 NFS charges, she talked with a banker and was told the account was put on ''hold''. Regardless, charges keep being generated, a few days later, she talked with another banker who said no one would place a hold on the account and that we would need to pay all of the charges. My wife then talked with the bank managed who was kind enough to wave in his words ''all of the bank charges on the account'' if our daughter would come in and talk with him. Which she did. Now we have found out that the bank has assessed over 40 charges, has pulled money out of our account causing it to be overdrawn, and is unwilling to talk about the situation in a professional manor. I realize there is a lot to this question and I do not expect an exhaustive answer, help in any form would be appreciated. We have spent about $2000 so far.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Banking Fees
FIrst, confirm in writing via letter the bank managers statement that "all charges will be waived", then give them a week to effectuate that. If no action, go to the Banking/Commerce commissioner with a complaint, or in the alternative take them to Conciliation Court if the amount in question is less than $ 7500.00
Re: Banking Fees
It is difficult from your inquiry, to determine what has been going on in this account.
As a first step, you need to immediately close this account, to prevent future charges from accruing. Presumably, if you, your wife, and daughter all sign the appropriate paperwork, the account must be closed.
As a second step, you need to obtain complete copies of all account statements and account memos, as well as copies of all cancelled checks, etc. to determine what specific charges have been made against the account by the bank, and why they were made. You will then be in a position to determine whether the bank charges were justified or not.
I am unable to evaluate whether the $2000 spent "so far" represents bank charges; reimbursement for overdrafts by your daughter; or some combination; and if so, whether the charges are or are not justified.
As co-signers on the account with your daughter, you are legally jointly responsible for any charges that your daughter incurs on the account.
At this point, having spent $2000 and not having moved closer to resolving the problem on your own, I highly recommend consultation with an attorney to determine your legal rights, obligations, and options. Retaining an attorney may be your most efficient manner of resolving this problem, at this point.
If you wish to contact me to discuss retaining my services as your attorney, please contact me at:
973-605-8995
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