§ 703. Notice of error and response. If a creditor, having transmitted to a consumer a statement of the consumer's account, receives from the consumer at an address designated therefor by the creditor in accordance with section seven hundred five of this article, within sixty days of the mailing of said statement, a written notice, on a document other than a document provided by the creditor to accompany payment, setting forth sufficient information to enable the creditor to identify the consumer and the account, the amount and transaction shown in the statement which the consumer in good faith believes to be a billing error, and the facts providing the basis for the consumer's belief that the statement is in error; the creditor shall:

Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 703

  • Billing error: means the initial occurrence of an error by omission or commission by the creditor in a billing statement given to the consumer by the creditor in (a) posting any debit or credit or (b) the computation of any amount or (c) any similar error of an accounting nature or (d) posting any debit for goods which were not received by the consumer as required by the provisions of subdivision fourteen of § 413 of the personal property law. See N.Y. General Business Law 701
  • Consumer: means a natural person. See N.Y. General Business Law 701
  • Creditor: means a person, partnership, corporation, association or other entity who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly extends consumer credit. See N.Y. General Business Law 701

1. Not later than thirty days after receipt of the notice, mail a written acknowledgment to the consumer; and

2. Not later than ninety days after receipt of the notice and prior to taking any action to collect the amount believed by the consumer to be a billing error, (a) make appropriate corrections in the account of the consumer and mail to the consumer a written notice stating that the amount believed to be in error has been corrected and will be shown on the next statement mailed to the consumer or (b) send a written notice to the consumer setting forth the reasons why the creditor believes the account of the consumer was correctly shown in the statement; and

3. Not communicate unfavorable credit information concerning the consumer to any person, including but not limited to credit bureaus or credit reporting agencies, based upon the consumer's failure to pay the amount believed by him to be a billing error, until the creditor has complied with this section.