Great Falls Bank & Financial Fraud Lawyers

Great Falls & MontanaBank & Financial Fraud

Great Falls, Montana Bank & Financial Fraud Lawyers: Bank Fraud, Unauthorized Transactions, Unfair Debt Collection and Credit Reporting Errors

Boland Aarab PLLP.

Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab

If a bank, lender, debt collector or credit bureau has taken your money, sued you over a debt you do not owe, or damaged your credit, federal and Montana law may give you a claim, and in many cases the right to recover your attorney fees. The deadlines are short, some measured in days, so the time to act is when you first discover the problem.

Key Takeaways

• Report an unauthorized debit or electronic transfer within 60 days after your statement is sent, or you risk losing protection for later losses (15 U.S.C. § 1693g).
• A debt collector that violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is liable for actual damages, additional damages of up to $1,000, and attorney fees, but suit must be filed within one year (15 U.S.C. § 1692k).
• A credit bureau must reinvestigate a dispute, generally within 30 days (15 U.S.C. § 1681i), and willful violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act can bring punitive damages (15 U.S.C. § 1681n).
• Montana’s Consumer Protection Act makes unfair or deceptive acts in trade or commerce unlawful (§ 30-14-103, MCA) and allows up to three times actual damages when those damages do not exceed $100,000 (§ 30-14-133, MCA).

On this page: Cases we handle · Unauthorized transactions · Sued over a debt · Debt collection abuse · Credit reports and identity theft · Lender misconduct · Elder exploitation · Deadlines · Why Boland Aarab · FAQ

Harmed by a bank, lender or debt collector? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

What bank and financial fraud cases do we handle?

We represent Montana individuals and families against financial institutions and the companies that collect, lend and report on their money. Our cases include:

• Bank and lender misconduct, including banks that ignore fraud claims.
• Unauthorized transactions and account fraud, from debit and credit card charges to account takeovers.
• Predatory or deceptive lending: hidden terms, misrepresented costs, pressure tactics.
• Unfair debt collection: harassment, threats and attempts to collect amounts not owed.
• Lawsuits over debts, including counterclaims when the collector broke the law.
• Credit reporting errors that credit bureaus and furnishers fail to fix.
• Identity theft fallout: fraudulent accounts, collections and credit damage.
• Elder financial exploitation through deception, undue influence or abuse of a power of attorney.

What if money was taken from your account without permission?

Report it to your bank or credit union immediately and in writing, because federal law limits your losses only if you act within set deadlines.

The Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation E protect consumers against unauthorized electronic transfers, including debit card, ATM, online and many app-based transfers (12 CFR § 1005.6). Your liability depends on how quickly you report (15 U.S.C. § 1693g; CFPB):

Once you give notice of an error within 60 days after the statement is sent, the institution must investigate. It generally has 10 business days to decide, or it may provisionally recredit your account and take up to 45 days to finish (15 U.S.C. § 1693f). A court may award treble damages if an institution fails to provisionally recredit without a good-faith basis, or knowingly and willfully denies an error when the evidence could not reasonably support that conclusion (§ 1693f(e)). Other violations can bring actual damages, statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 in an individual case, and attorney fees (15 U.S.C. § 1693m).

For credit cards, federal law generally caps a cardholder’s liability for unauthorized use at $50 (15 U.S.C. § 1643).

What should you do if you are sued over a debt?

Do not ignore it. Respond by the deadline stated in the summons, and have a lawyer review the claim, because many debt lawsuits have defenses, and some give rise to counterclaims.

The company may be unable to prove it owns the debt, may seek interest and fees the contract never allowed, or may be suing on a debt that was paid, discharged or never yours. If you do not respond, the court can enter a default judgment, which can lead to garnishment.

Filing a lawsuit does not exempt a collector from the rules. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts, “even when that activity consists of litigation” (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). A collector that misstates the amount owed, sues for charges it has no right to collect, or makes false statements in the process may owe you damages and fees.

We have turned a debt lawsuit around. Our clients came to us as defendants, sued over a debt. We fought back. The company dropped its claim, forgave the debt and paid our clients about four times what it first said it should pay. The result was $27,000 and the debt erased, in a Cascade County debt defense and counterclaim settlement. See our results.

What does the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibit?

The FDCPA bars debt collectors from harassing, deceiving or using unfair means against consumers (15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.); the CFPB’s Regulation F adds detailed rules.

The Act covers consumer debts, meaning obligations for personal, family or household purposes, and it applies to “debt collectors,” generally companies whose business is collecting debts owed to others. It generally does not cover a creditor collecting its own debt in its own name (15 U.S.C. § 1692a). Prohibited conduct includes:

• Harassment, such as abusive language or calling repeatedly to annoy or harass (§ 1692d).
• False or misleading statements about the amount or legal status of a debt, threats of action that cannot legally be taken, and reporting credit information the collector knows or should know is false, including failing to report that a disputed debt is disputed (§ 1692e).
• Unfair practices, including collecting any amount, such as interest or fees, not authorized by the agreement or permitted by law (§ 1692f).
• Ignoring validation rights. Within five days after first contacting you, a collector must send a written notice about the debt. If you dispute it in writing within the 30-day period, the collector must stop collecting until it verifies the debt (§ 1692g).

A collector that violates the Act is liable for actual damages, additional damages of up to $1,000 in an individual case, and a reasonable attorney fee in a successful case (§ 1692k).

How do you fix a credit report error or identity theft?

Dispute the error in writing with each credit bureau reporting it, keep copies, and if the error is not corrected, you may have a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

• Reinvestigation. A credit bureau that receives your dispute must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, free of charge, generally within 30 days, and correct or delete inaccurate information (§ 1681i).
• Furnisher duties. When a credit bureau passes your dispute to the bank or collector that supplied the information, that company must investigate, review what you provided, report the results, and correct or delete inaccurate information (§ 1681s-2(b)). Disputing through the credit bureau matters, because some furnisher duties can be enforced only by government agencies (§ 1681s-2(c)-(d)).
• Identity theft blocks. With proof of identity, an identity theft report and a statement that the information is not yours, a credit bureau must block the fraudulent information within 4 business days (§ 1681c-2).
• Remedies. Negligence allows actual damages and fees (§ 1681o); willful violations add statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 as an alternative to actual damages, and punitive damages (§ 1681n).

If identity theft followed a data breach, see our data privacy page.

Can you sue a bank or lender for deceptive practices?

Often, yes. Montana’s Consumer Protection Act reaches unfair or deceptive acts in any trade or commerce, and it can be combined with fraud, breach of contract and federal claims.

The Act declares that “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are unlawful” (§ 30-14-103, MCA). A “consumer” is a person who buys or leases goods, services, real property or information primarily for personal, family or household purposes (§ 30-14-102, MCA). Under § 30-14-133, MCA:

The fee rule runs both ways: a business that wins may ask for its fees, so we weigh that risk with you before filing.

What if an older parent is being financially exploited?

Act quickly: report it, protect the accounts, and talk to a lawyer about recovering what was taken.

Montana law defines exploitation of a vulnerable adult, including anyone 60 or older, as the unreasonable use of that person, or of a power of attorney, conservatorship or guardianship, to obtain or divert the person’s money, assets or property through deception, duress, menace, fraud, undue influence or intimidation (§ 52-3-803, MCA). Suspected exploitation can be reported to Adult Protective Services under the Montana Vulnerable Adult Prevention of Abuse Act (§ 52-3-811, MCA).

Civil claims may lie against the person who took the money and, in some cases, against a bank or advisor that processed transactions it had reason to question.

What are the deadlines?

Short, and several are measured from the violation rather than from when you found out.

• Unauthorized electronic transfers: report within 60 days after the statement is sent (§ 1693g). EFTA lawsuits: 1 year from the violation (§ 1693m(g)).
• FDCPA: 1 year from the violation (§ 1692k(d)).
• FCRA: the earlier of 2 years after you discover the violation or 5 years after it occurs (§ 1681p).
• Montana Consumer Protection Act: 2 years (§ 27-2-211(1)(c), MCA, applied by § 30-14-133).
• Fraud: 2 years from discovery of the facts constituting the fraud (§ 27-2-203, MCA).
• A debt lawsuit against you: the response deadline in the summons, often only weeks.

Keep every letter, statement and voicemail, and call before the one-year deadlines run.

The Boland Aarab Way

We are trial lawyers, and we prepare every case as if it will be tried and then appealed. Banks and collection companies count on consumers giving up. We do not.

• We fight back when our clients are sued. See the Cascade County debt defense result above, and our results.
• We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
• We know federal court. FDCPA, FCRA and EFTA claims are often litigated there. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977.
• You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves. Both are members of the American Association for Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association; Caitlin serves as an AAJ Governor and on the MTLA Board. Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.

Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Where do we handle bank and financial fraud cases?

Our office is at 18 6th Street North, Suite 200, Great Falls, MT 59401. We handle bank fraud, debt collection and credit reporting cases across Montana, including Great Falls, Billings, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Butte and Kalispell. We also handle data privacy and insurance bad faith cases.

Where do we handle bank and financial fraud cases?

We are based at 18 6th Street North, Suite 200, in Great Falls, and handle bank and financial fraud cases across Montana. Our attorneys travel for depositions, hearings and trial. For local information, see our pages for Billings bank and financial fraud lawyers, Missoula bank and financial fraud lawyers, Helena bank and financial fraud lawyers, Bozeman bank and financial fraud lawyers, Butte bank and financial fraud lawyers, Kalispell bank and financial fraud lawyers and Havre bank and financial fraud lawyers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my bank refund money stolen from my account? Often, if you report promptly. Your liability for unauthorized electronic transfers is limited to $50 or $500 depending on how fast you report, and you must report within 60 days after the statement is sent (15 U.S.C. § 1693g).

How long does my bank have to investigate a fraud claim? Generally 10 business days, or up to 45 days if it provisionally recredits your account (15 U.S.C. § 1693f).

Can I sue a debt collector for harassment in Montana? Yes, under the federal FDCPA, for actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional damages and attorney fees, within one year of the violation (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692d, 1692k).

I am being sued over a debt. What should I do? Respond by the deadline in the summons and have a lawyer review the claim. Many debt suits have defenses, and a collector that broke the law may owe you damages.

Can I sue a credit bureau for refusing to fix my report? Yes, if it failed to reasonably reinvestigate or correct inaccurate information. You may recover actual damages and fees, and for willful violations statutory and punitive damages (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681i, 1681n, 1681o).

What should I do if someone opened accounts in my name? File an identity theft report, dispute the accounts with the credit bureaus and ask them to block the information, which they must do within 4 business days of receiving the required documents (15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2).

Can I get triple damages under the Montana Consumer Protection Act? Possibly. The court may award up to three times actual damages if they do not exceed $100,000; punitive damages are not available under that section (§ 30-14-133, MCA).

What counts as financial exploitation of an elderly person in Montana? Using deception, undue influence, fraud or a power of attorney to take or divert the money or property of someone 60 or older or otherwise vulnerable (§ 52-3-803, MCA).

Talk to a Great Falls Financial Fraud Lawyer

Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Sources: 15 U.S.C. § 1692a · § 1692d · § 1692e · § 1692f · § 1692g · § 1692k · 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2 · § 1681i · § 1681n · § 1681o · § 1681p · § 1681s-2 · 15 U.S.C. § 1643 · § 1693f · § 1693g · § 1693m · 12 CFR § 1005.6 · Regulation F, 12 CFR part 1006 · § 30-14-102, MCA · § 30-14-103, MCA · § 30-14-133, MCA · § 27-2-203, MCA · § 27-2-211, MCA · § 52-3-803, MCA · § 52-3-811, MCA · Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995) · CFPB: unauthorized transactions

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.