The CFPB announces final judgement against bank for Regulation Z violations

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a stipulated final judgment and order (judgment) with Citizens Bank, N.A. (Citizens Bank) for violating Regulation Z’s credit card error resolution provisions following a January 2020 compliant (complaint) filed by the CFPB. While Regulation E’s error resolution provisions typically dominate error resolution conversations, it is worth remembering Regulation Z has its own provisions for moments like when the CFPB come knocking.

Section 1026.13 outlines the billing error resolution process under Regulation Z. This process involves a written notice from a member alerting a credit union of an alleged billing error. This error notice allows a credit union to identify the consumer’s name and account number while allowing the member to outline his or her claim and reasons for the belief that an error exists. This notice will also capture the type, date, and the amount of the error. A credit union is also required to resolve the resolution in a timely manner following the timing requirements under section 1026.13(c).

In addition, Regulation Z outlines procedures if the billing error occurred as asserted or if a different billing error or no billing error occurred along with the timing requirements and the written notice requirements. Lastly, section 1026.13(g) outlines the rights and duties of a creditor after resolution. If you want to read more on this subject, NAFCU’s compliance blog, Disputed Territory: Billing Error Notices, provides a more in-depth discussion on section 1026.13.

Now that we offered a brief overview of the provision at the heart of regulatory action, let’s move to what happened and what is stipulated in the final judgement.

 

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