Washington Report: House Approves Bill to Stop Frivolous ATM Lawsuits

The bipartisan bill eliminates redundant ATM signage requirements for transaction fees.

July 11, 2012

WASHINGTON - On Monday, the House voted overwhelmingly to approve bipartisan legislation eliminating a regulatory provision that has become the source of frivolous lawsuits aimed at operators of automated teller machines (ATMs).

A regulation issued under current law requires a sign that notifies consumers about transaction fees to be attached to ATMs in addition to a separate notice that appears on the machines€™ screens. This redundant regulatory requirement has spawned lawsuits by unscrupulous plaintiffs and vandals who remove the sign so they can then sue the ATM operator for being in violation of the law.

"As the number and the costs of these nuisance lawsuits rise, so does the likelihood that ATM operators will have to raise fees or reduce the number of ATMs in places where this vandalism has occurred," said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL). "Failing to stem the tide of these lawsuits threatens consumers€™ convenient access to their money."

H.R. 4367 was introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and co-sponsored by Rep. David Scott (D-GA), both of whom serve on the Financial Services Committee. It picked up more than 100 other Republican and Democratic co-sponsors before its approval by the House on Monday. The Financial Services Committee had earlier approved the bill on a voice vote.

The legislation would still require ATMs to maintain the onscreen notice about fees and provide consumers with the ability to decline those fees and terminate the transaction.

NACS is part of a coalition supporting revision of the ATM signage requirement. In June, it sent a letter to the committee urging immediate passage of the bipartisan bill, H.R. 4367 in the House of Representatives and S. 3204 in the Senate.

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