The Truist overdraft fees settlement is a court-approved class action resolution of up to $240 million that pays certain Georgia residents who were charged overdraft fees on small ATM or debit card transactions at SunTrust Bank between July 12, 2006, and April 15, 2014. The case, Bickerstaff v. SunTrust Bank, received final approval on May 26, 2026. If you qualify, you will need to submit a claim form once the settlement administrator mails or emails it to you; class members who do not file a claim receive nothing but still give up their legal claims against the bank.1SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Notice2SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Overview
Who Qualifies for a Payment
The settlement class is narrow. To be eligible, you must meet all four of these conditions:
- You were a Georgia citizen on July 12, 2010, and remained one continuously through October 6, 2017.
- You held one or more SunTrust deposit accounts that were not closed before June 1, 2010.
- Between July 12, 2006, and April 15, 2014, you had at least one overdraft of $500 or less caused by an ATM or debit card transaction.
- You paid an overdraft fee on that transaction — including NSF or extended overdraft fees — and were never refunded.
A few groups are specifically shut out. People who closed their SunTrust accounts before June 1, 2010, are not in this class and must pursue their claims through arbitration. The 158 individuals who previously opted out of the class are also excluded.1SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Notice One important boundary: the settlement covers only legacy SunTrust accounts. Former BB&T customers who became Truist customers through the 2019 merger are not part of this class.3SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Frequently Asked Questions Fees charged after April 15, 2014, are also outside the case, because a 2014 Georgia statutory amendment expressly declared that overdraft fees are not interest.4FindLaw. SunTrust Bank v. Bickerstaff et al.
How Much You Could Receive
Payments are not a flat amount. An expert will pull SunTrust’s records and calculate an “Account Total” for every eligible account by adding up all qualifying unrefunded overdraft fees and applying 7% simple annual interest from the date each account returned to a positive balance through December 31, 2025. Your account’s share of the fund is then its Account Total divided by the sum of all Account Totals across the class — a straight pro rata split. If that math produces less than $5 for an account, the account still gets a $5 minimum. Joint accounts with multiple claimants are split equally.2SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Overview3SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Frequently Asked Questions
The $240 million is a ceiling, not a net payout. Several deductions come out before any money reaches class members:
- Class counsel’s attorney’s fees of up to one-third (33⅓%) of the total.
- Up to $3 million in litigation costs built up over 15 years.
- Up to $200,000 as an incentive payment to the class representative.
- Administrative costs for sending notices and processing claims.
Whatever is left — the “Net Settling Class Member Funds” — is what gets divided among claimants. The original plaintiffs had sought up to $452 million in refunds, so the $240 million figure reflects a compromise.5American Banker. Truist Settles 15-Year-Old Legal Saga, Causing Earnings Hit2SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Overview
One more detail matters for your expectations: any portion of the fund that goes unclaimed stays with Truist. The money is not redistributed to the people who did file, so the total number of claims filed does not reduce your individual share.2SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Overview
How and When to File a Claim
The court granted preliminary approval on January 23, 2026, and final approval after the fairness hearing on May 26, 2026. Under the settlement agreement, claim forms are to be mailed and emailed to eligible class members within 14 days of the final order, after which members have 60 days to submit them. As of mid-2026, however, the official settlement website still lists the claim form deadline as “To Be Determined,” and the forms have not yet been distributed. Check SunTrustOverdraftClassAction.com for the live deadline before relying on any date.6SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Home Page
When the forms are available, you can file online or by mail. You will have to affirm under penalty of perjury that you met the Georgia citizenship requirement during the required period. Payments are issued by check or Zelle, and once Truist transfers the claimed funds into the settlement account, the administrator must issue payments within 30 days. Checks that are not cashed within 60 days are voided.7SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Class Settlement Agreement
If you believe you are eligible but have not received a notice, contact the settlement administrator to update your address or email. The contact information is:
- Phone: 1-877-239-8765
- Email: info@SunTrustOverdraftClassAction.com
- Mail: SunTrust Overdraft Class Action, Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2873, Portland, OR 97208-2873
- Website: SunTrustOverdraftClassAction.com
What Happens If You Do Nothing
Doing nothing has two consequences. First, you receive no payment, even if your records show you clearly qualify. Second, you are still bound by the settlement’s release of claims, meaning you give up the right to sue Truist over the same overdraft fees in the future. The release applies to every class member who did not opt out during the earlier opt-out window, whether or not they file a claim form now.2SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Overview
Why Truist Is Paying
The lawsuit began on July 12, 2010, when Jeff Bickerstaff, Jr. sued SunTrust in the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia, arguing that the flat fees the bank charged when it covered small overdrafts were actually interest on short-term loans, and that the effective rate blew past Georgia’s usury cap of 10% on loans of $3,000 or less. SunTrust countered that the fees were service charges, not interest. After Jeff Bickerstaff, Jr. died in 2014, his father Charles Daniel Bickerstaff continued the case as administrator of his estate and became the class representative.4FindLaw. SunTrust Bank v. Bickerstaff et al.1SunTrust Overdraft Class Action. Settlement Notice
On February 20, 2025, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed that SunTrust’s overdraft program constituted an “advance of funds” and that whether the fees were unlawful interest was a question for a jury. The court cited internal SunTrust documents describing overdrafts as “an extension of unsecured credit” and the fees as “critical to SunTrust’s profitability.” The Georgia Supreme Court declined to intervene on September 16, 2025, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on January 12, 2026. With trial looming and appeals exhausted, Truist, which absorbed SunTrust in the 2019 merger that formed the bank, agreed to settle later that month.4FindLaw. SunTrust Bank v. Bickerstaff et al.8Supreme Court of Georgia. SunTrust Bank v. Bickerstaff, Case No. S25C09699Supreme Court of the United States. SunTrust Bank v. Charles Daniel Bickerstaff, Docket No. 25-585