RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) – Virginia consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against a bank over allegations that they were victims of illegal predatory lending schemes and that the bank assessed unnecessary fees.
Christine J. Gillam, Ronnie Gillam and Elwood Rodney Bumbray, on behalf of themselves and all individuals similarly situated, filed a complaint on Oct. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division against Branch Banking and Trust Co. of Virginia, doing business as BB&T, for alleged violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA).
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs have checking accounts through BB&T. They allege they all had loans through predatory lenders that required automatic withdrawals from their accounts. The plaintiffs allege that they sent an email informing defendant it no longer had their permission to auto-debit their accounts due to allege illegality of the loans.
They allege that despite the notifications, the defendant allegedly refused to acknowledge them and instead assessed unnecessary stop-payment fees on their existing accounts.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment for actual, proximate, treble and additional statutory damages; attorney's fees; litigation expenses; costs of suit; and such other relief the court deems proper. They are represented by Kristi C. Kelly, Andrew J. Guzzo and Casey S. Nash of Kelly & Crandall PLC in Fairfax, Virginia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Richmond Division case number 3:17-cv-00722-JAG