Aug 6, 2026
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Add us on GoogleIf you were a customer of SunTrust Bank and you paid overdraft fees from the mid-2000s till 2014, there’s a chance that you could be in line to claim as much as $1,000.
That’s because the bank, now Truist Bank, settled a class-action lawsuit for $240 million, over ATM and debit card overdraft fees.
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The complaint, filed in 2010, alleged that SunTrust’s overdraft fees for certain transactions constituted interest, a violation of usury laws in Georgia.
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According to a CNBC report, Truist “denied any wrongdoing and said it was settling to avoid the burden and expense of continued litigation.”
Read on to find out who’s eligible, and how to file a claim before the Sept. 14 deadline.
Who can make a claim?
To be eligible to make a claim as part of the class action, you must:
- Have been a citizen of Georgia continuously from July 12, 2010 through Oct. 6, 2017.
- Have had a SunTrust Bank account that was not closed before June 1, 2010.
- Incurred at least one overdraft fee of $500 or less, charged between July 12, 2006 and April 15, 2014, from an ATM or debit card transaction.
- Have paid overdraft fees as a result of the transaction(s) and didn’t get a refund.
Those who may meet these criteria have been sent postcard or email notices by the settlement administrator.
CNBC reported that “464,000 account holders were identified and sent notices.”
Payment amounts will depend on how much you paid in overdraft fees; your proportional share of the settlement funds will also depend “on the number of valid claims submitted and the total value of all claims,” the CNBC report says.
“Eligible class members may receive between $5 and $1,000, depending on the amount they paid in qualifying overdraft fees,” according to CNBC.
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If you think you might be eligible to make a claim, but you did not receive an email or postcard about the class action, contact the settlement administrator. If you were contacted, you still need to submit a claim form before the deadline in order to receive payment.
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Avoid overdraft
In 2025, financial institutions made about $12 billion from American consumers on overdraft and NSF fees, according to a National Consumer Law Center report.
While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did issue a rule in December 2024 that would’ve seen most overdraft fees reduced to $5, Congress reversed the rule in 2025, before it took effect.
Banks charge overdraft fees when there isn’t enough money in an account to cover a transaction you make. and they can often cost around $35, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
For ATM or debit transactions at merchants, you must opt in, or agree when opening an account, in order for the bank to charge you overdraft fees, which are often referred to as “overdraft protection,” the FDIC says.
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Your bank may offer an option to link a savings account to your checking account, so that if you don’t have enough in your checking to cover transactions, funds can be drawn from savings, but there may be fees for this option.
If you don’t want to be charged overdraft fees, consider switching to a bank that doesn’t charge them; institutions that have done away with overdraft fees include Capital One, Citibank, American Express bank and Ally Bank, according to a New York Times report.
If you sometimes have to rely on overdraft, you can look for a bank that offers small installment loans as an alternative, or check out fintech firms that offer similar services.
One exception is if you use paper checks: “While you have a choice to opt-in or opt-out of overdraft coverage for debit card transactions, you may not have a choice when it comes to using paper checks or other ways of making payments or purchases from your account,” the FDIC says.
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
