We have a client who is disputing a $30 ACH credit card payment (the credit card is with a different bank). The client said he initially called the credit card company to cancel the $30 payment and have it rescheduled for the next business day. They told him they would do that for him, but he ended up having two $30 payments made on the same day.

I attempted to call the bank, but they would not provide me any information as I am not the cardholder. I will ask the client if he would be interested in contacting the company to reverse the payment (but not require it per Reg E). If that does not work, does it sound like we should be refunding him the $30 under Reg E guidelines?

Technically, it won't fit the definition of an unauthorized EFT under Regulation E because the consumer received the benefit of the transfer [see definition at 1005.2(m)]. However, it could still be a UEFT under ACH rules, and you could return it if your customer provides you a timely written statement of unauthorized debit (WSUD). If you do send it back, I recommend refunding any fees your customer incurs at your bank due to the double debit (such as an overdraft fee), even if Regulation E isn't implicated.

I'd push for the customer to try getting the duplicate payment reversed from the credit card end (since your can reject the Regulation E error claim), rather than pushing the extra debit back from your side. If you send the debit back, there's always the potential for the credit card issuer to misinterpret the return and hit its cardholder (your depositor) with a bounced payment fee, and that will just bollocks things up worse for your customer.

Thank you for the clarification. The customer says he has already tried to get the duplicate payment reversed from the credit card end. He has advised us to return the item, which we did yesterday. Do ACH rules require us to provide him any credit at this point or can we wait?

How did you return it (what return code was used)? Did you get a WSUD from your customer? If you got the WSUD and returned using an R10, you should be crediting your customer. You might wait a day or two to ensure the Originator doesn't try a fast one to reject the return (R10 should not be bounced back to you if properly completed).

We did receive a signed WSUD and it was returned as an R07 Authorization Revoked. Does that change things?