ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Knowing Your Rights
Lender Obligations Under The Truth in Lending Act
What Consumers Need to Know
The Truth in Lending Act of 1968 (TILA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq., is a federal law that was created to ensure that consumers receive accurate information when they enter into credit transactions. TILA covers most consumer credit loans, including mortgages, credit cards, and home equity loans, and was designed so that the disclosures given to consumers would be consistent and standardized. This law requires a creditor to disclose certain information in writing regarding the terms of a credit transaction. See especially Regulation Z promulgated under TILA for specific disclosure requirements, 12 C.F.R. §§ 1026 et seq. (2019).
Violations of TILA include, but are not limited to, improper disclosure of amount financed, finance charge, payment schedule, total of payments, annual percentage rate, and security interest disclosures. 12 C.F.R. §§ 1026 et seq. In certain circumstances, borrowers may be entitled to damages, rescission, and attorneys’ fees when their lender violates TILA requirements. See 15 U.S.C. § 1640. If you believe your lender has violated your rights under TILA call the litigators at Evans Law Firm, Inc. today at (415)441-8669. Our attorneys handled cases throughout California. We do not handle foreclosure or loan modification or refinancing cases, however.
Consumer Remedies
Remedies for violations of TILA may in certain kinds of cases include:
- Actual monetary damages.
- Attorneys’ fees and court costs for successful enforcement and rescission actions.
- Statutory damages.
- For individual cases, double the correctly calculated finance charge but not less than $100 or more than $1,000 for individual actions.
- For class actions, an amount allowed by the court with no required minimum recovery per class member to a maximum of $500,000 or 1% of the creditor’s net worth, whichever is less. 15 U.S.C. § 1640 et seq.
