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Hidden fees

United States — overdraft, NSF and credit-card penalty fees (CFPB)

NationalUSCFPBDerived or secondary source

United States — consumer financial products (CFPB)

Rule id
fees.us-cfpb-bank
Version
1.0.0
In force from
July 1, 2010
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
United States

In plain language

What this regime says.

An overdraft fee on an ATM or one-time debit transaction is unlawful unless you affirmatively opted in. A credit-card late fee may not exceed the minimum payment due. The widely-reported USD 8 late-fee cap was vacated in 2025 and is not law.

Who is covered

Holders of US consumer deposit accounts and credit cards.

What you get

Refund of fees charged without the required opt-in or in excess of the regulatory limits, usually through the CFPB complaint process. We state no statutory damages figure.

Where claims go wrong

  • Quoting the vacated USD 8 late-fee cap. It is not in force.
  • Not checking whether you ever opted in to overdraft coverage. Most people never did.
  • Accepting multiple NSF fees on a single item that the merchant represented.
  • Complaining by phone rather than through the CFPB portal, which compels a written response.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. 12 CFR § 1005.17 (Regulation E — overdraft opt-in)Code of Federal Regulations, Title 12 (Banks and Banking), Part 1005URL verified 2026-08-05§ 1005.17(b) — a financial institution may not assess a fee for paying an ATM or one-time debit card transaction pursuant to its overdraft service unless it has provided the consumer with a segregated written notice describing the service, given a reasonable opportunity to opt in, obtained the consumer's affirmative consent, and confirmed it in writing
  2. 12 CFR § 1026.52(b) (Regulation Z — limitations on penalty fees)Code of Federal Regulations, Title 12, Part 1026 (Truth in Lending)URL verified 2026-08-05§ 1026.52(b)(1)(i) — a card issuer may impose a penalty fee only if it represents a reasonable proportion of the costs incurred as a result of the violation; § 1026.52(b)(1)(ii) — the safe-harbour amounts, which are adjusted annually for inflation; § 1026.52(b)(2)(i)(A) — a penalty fee may not exceed the dollar amount associated with the violation, so a late fee may not exceed the minimum payment due

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

European Union — price indication, drip pricing, pre-ticked extras and surchargingEUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 98/6/EC, arts. 2(a) and 3(1)Confidence: highEuropean Union — air fare all-inclusive pricing, Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 art. 23EUAIRSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 1008/2008, art. 23(1)Confidence: highUnited Kingdom — drip pricing under the DMCCA 2024 and the CPUTRGBNational — United KingdomDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Part 4Confidence: mediumCalifornia — SB 478 Honest Pricing Law and the Consumers Legal Remedies ActUS-CASub-national — United StatesCal. Civ. Code § 1780Confidence: highCanada — drip pricing under the Competition ActCANational — CanadaCompetition Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34), ss. 52, 74.01 and 36Confidence: mediumColorado — Consumer Protection ActUS-COSub-national — United StatesC.R.S. §§ 6-1-105, 6-1-113Confidence: mediumConnecticut — Unfair Trade Practices ActUS-CTSub-national — United StatesConn. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-110b, 42-110gConfidence: mediumMassachusetts — junk-fee regulations and Chapter 93AUS-MASub-national — United StatesM.G.L. c. 93A, § 9Confidence: medium

Other rights in the same countries

Alabama security deposit return — Ala. Code § 35-9A-201US-ALSub-national — United StatesAla. Code § 35-9A-201Confidence: mediumAlabama unclaimed property — Ala. Code §§ 35-12-70 to 35-12-99US-ALSub-national — United StatesAla. Code §§ 35-12-70 to 35-12-99Confidence: mediumAlaska security deposit return — Alaska Stat. § 34.03.070US-AKSub-national — United StatesAlaska Stat. § 34.03.070Confidence: mediumAlaska unclaimed property — Alaska Stat. §§ 34.45.110–34.45.780US-AKSub-national — United StatesAlaska Stat. §§ 34.45.110–34.45.780Confidence: mediumArizona security deposit return — A.R.S. § 33-1321US-AZSub-national — United StatesA.R.S. § 33-1321Confidence: highArizona unclaimed property — Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 44-301 to 44-341US-AZSub-national — United StatesAriz. Rev. Stat. §§ 44-301 to 44-341Confidence: mediumArizona surprise out-of-network bill dispute resolution (A.R.S. § 20-3111 et seq.)US-AZSub-national — United StatesA.R.S. § 20-3111 et seq.Confidence: mediumArkansas security deposit return — Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-306US-ARSub-national — United StatesArk. Code Ann. § 18-16-306Confidence: medium

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

Run your factsBack to the catalogue

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.