56:11-7. Failure to comply; penalty

Any creditor, having received a notice from a consumer as provided in section 3 of this act, who fails to comply with the requirements of that section:

a. If such an amount is not in fact a billing error, forfeits any rights to collect from the consumer any finance charge or other charge imposed by the creditor in connection with the amount so specified, from the date of the mailing of such notice to the date the creditor complies with section 3 of this act; and

b. If such amount is in fact a billing error, is liable to the consumer in an amount equal to the sum of:

(1) the actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure of the creditor to comply with such section;

(2) twice the amount of the billing error shown in the statement of the consumer's account except that liability under this paragraph shall not be greater than $100.00; and (3) in the case of any successful action to enforce the foregoing liability, the costs of the action together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court.

c. If such amount is in fact a billing error but the creditor shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from bona fide error made despite the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error, the creditor shall be liable to the consumer only to the extent of the actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure of the creditor to comply with such section and the costs of any action brought to enforce collection of such erroneous bill together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court.

L.1974, c. 146, s. 7.