Legal Question in Banking Law in Oregon

Unauthorized payment

Loan company did a direct withdrawl from our checking account without written or verbal permission.Our bank issued a stop payment but we have over $100 in overdraft charges due to this action.The loan company has admitted they were wrong but are not willing to take care of the charges to our account and are now avoiding our calls.We sent a letter and left voice mails stating that no more payments will be made until we get a reply from them.What are our options? Can we take legal action against them?


Asked on 3/15/07, 12:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Svitek Svitek Law Group, LLC

Re: Unauthorized payment

I would need additional information to determine if there are remedies against the loan company (what type of loan is this?). As they received your checking account information on some type of form, I would want to make sure I reviewed your agreement and the terms and conditions carefully so I would understand why they were collecting this information and what the agreement was as far as payments.

Your remedies against the loan company may be actual damages -- here it is $100 (and up to 3 times the damages), and punitive damages ranging between $100 and $1,000.

The simpler question is what to do about the $100 overdraft charges. Explain your circumstances, and if you have a good track record with the bank, they may be willing reverse the overdraft charges as a matter of good customer service.

Try to recover your $100 fee with the bank, and consult with an attorney if you would like to evaluate a case against the lender.

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Answered on 3/23/07, 3:15 am


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