Atlantic Union to refund millions Richmond-based Atlantic Union to refund millions for illegal fees

Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bank has to refund at least $5 million to thousands of customers it illegally enrolled in a checking account program that charged fees, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

In addition to the refund, the bureau ordered the Richmond-based bank to pay a $1.2 million penalty to the agency's victims relief fund.

The violations in selling Atlantic Union's Opt-In Overdraft Privilege service occurred from 2017 to 2020. "Atlantic Union Bank harvested millions of dollars in overdraft fees through a host of illegal practices," said bureau director Rohit Chopra.

"Americans are fed up with junk fee scams and the CFPB will continue its work to ensure families are treated fairly," bureau director Rohit Chopra added. The issue involved Atlantic Union's overdraft service, basically insurance that the bank would not bounce checks before customers can top up their accounts.A bureau review found that Atlantic Union misled consumers who enrolled in this overdraft service by phone and failed to provide proper disclosures.

Federal law and regulations require banks to describe in writing before getting a consumer to opt-in to overdraft coverage for ATM withdrawals and one-time debit card transactions.

Atlantic Union charged fees without proper consent, the bureau found.

Branch employees made customers give oral consent to the overdraft service before providing the written disclosures about terms and fees, the bureau said.

In addition, Atlantic Union misled customers about the terms and costs of overdraft coverage, the bureau said.

When customers enrolled in overdraft coverage by phone, bank employees did not clearly explain which transactions were covered by the service, the bureau said. They also reportedly made other misleading statements about the terms and conditions of the service.

In some calls, the bureau said, bank employees never mentioned key information about the cost of the service and the fact that consumers could incur a hefty overdraft fee for each transaction covered by the service.

Atlantic Union said that in agreeing to the penalty it has not admitted it did anything wrong. "We respectfully disagree with the CFPB's conclusions about these historical practices and take very seriously our obligation to comply with applicable law," said Atlantic Union Chief Executive Officer John Asbury.

"We are, and have always been, committed to treating our customers fairly and providing them with the information they need to help them make financial decisions that work for their lives," he added.

Dave Ress (804) 649-6948dress@timesdispatch.com