In the Official Commentary of Reg. E 205.11(c) comment 1, it states that notification can be oral or in writing unless specified. In 205.11(d)(1), it states a written explanation is needed of the institutions findings when no error has occured, etc, etc. However, in 205.11(d)(2) when debiting provisional credit it does not specify a written explanation is needed, is an oral notification ok in this area or do I refer back to 205.11(d)(1) of this section when citing this as a possible violation ? If a merchant credited back one of our employees and we debited the account of its provisional credit, do we have to send a letter? Communication between employees and any disputes is done orally, I'm trying to figure out if this is a violation of the reg. Any assistance is appreciated, thank you.

The written notice requirement extends to the report of the institution's findings and the notice to the customer of a right to ask for documents used in the determination. It does not extend to the notice that the provisional credit is being reversed (or adjusted).

IMO, charging the customer's account without written notice is a poor practice, even if oral notice is technically compliant.