Treble Damages: When a Bank’s Bad Faith Investigation Pays Triple
Treble Damages: The EFTA Hammer
Most consumer laws offer statutory damages of $1,000. But the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) has a hidden weapon: Treble Damages (Triple Damages).
Section 1693f(e)
You can win three times your actual damages if you can prove that the bank:
- Did not provisionally recredit your account within the 10-day period when they were required to; OR
- Not concluded that no error occurred when such conclusion could not reasonably have been drawn from the evidence available.
What This Means
If you give the bank proof (e.g., “I was in New York, the withdrawal was in London”), and they deny your claim saying “No Error Found,” they are acting in bad faith. Their conclusion “could not reasonably have been drawn” from the evidence.
High Stakes
If their refusal to refund $2,000 caused you to lose your apartment (damages of $10,000), and we prove bad faith:
- Actual Damages: $10,000
- Treble Damages: $30,000
- Total: $40,000 + Attorney’s Fees
This provision forces banks to take investigations seriously—if you have an attorney who knows how to plead it.
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