Customer authorized a bed and breakfast to "bill" her charges to debit card. Gets home, sees statement and now claims more than agreed to was debited and files Reg E claim. Since the debit was authorized and just the amount is in dispute can we deny the claim?

What is the evidence of the authorization? If it was authorized, it was authorized. But if the customer has a receipt for $100 and it was $200, I'd say the authorization was exceeded and the claim may be valid.

In any case, the investigation must be documented and carried out according to your procedures.

That's another part of the problem, she won't bring in anything to document the claim plus she has a history of NSFs.

You should get it from the merchant, or even an oral interview with the merchant may help?

I believe the customer has an obligation to assist in the investigation to a reasonable extent. Providing you with a document you believe they have would assist in this.

Otherwise, I would lean toward denying the claim and letting the customer know that they can request it be reopened at a later date. It "smells" as though they don't feel they got the value for their dollar or were hit with an early checkout fee or some such thing. It is important to know what amount is in dispute and why.

They may be using you to enforce what they feel was rightfully owed. If they chose not to do that when they authorized the debit, that would not be a valid claim.

AZ, is there a time limit to which the customer can "reopen" this case?

Once an investigation is complete, Reg. E allows that there is no investigative responsibility for a reassertion of error. We will on occasion allow a customer to do this within a 30 day window, depending on the circumstances. We don't do it often as I want a conclusion and this isn't complete. But it leaves the door open in the event they get the receipt or other evidence not currently available. This is especially important if you feel that a provisional credit will be lost and the claim is not substantiated.

Let me be clear though, this is not to be used as a tactic to avoid paying a claim. It is a way to close an investigation based on the evidence at hand and within the guidance of 205.11.

Thanks for all the input. We are denying the claim since she authorized the transaction. Her dispute is with the hotel.