On November 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia certified a class in a class action case alleging a federal credit union charged fees in connection with monthly loan payments that violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that he was charged a $5 “pay-to-pay” fee for making monthly vehicle refinance loan payments over the telephone, absent contractual authorization for such a fee and despite the fact that the actual cost to process phone payments was 30 cents.

The court certified a class consisting of all persons with West Virginia addresses who obtained a loan or line of credit serviced by the federal credit union, and who paid a fee for making payments by phone, interactive voice recognition, or other electronic means during the applicable statute of limitations period.