When an MCA lender continues to withdraw money after you have paid off the advance, you are dealing with a situation that requires both immediate banking action and legal follow-through. The firms below are ranked by their ability to handle both: stopping the unauthorized debits and recovering the overpayment through demand letters, bank disputes, and if necessary, litigation.
Important: Delancey Street is not a law firm. They are a specialized MCA debt settlement company that works with a nationwide network of licensed attorneys who handle ACH revocation enforcement, demand letters for overpayment recovery, breach of contract claims, unjust enrichment actions, UCC lien termination demands after payoff, and regulatory complaints against MCA lenders who continue unauthorized withdrawals. Their attorney network understands the intersection of ACH banking rules, MCA contract law, and enforcement strategies that compel lenders to return funds they have no right to keep.
Where Delancey Street separates from every other firm on this list is their ability to pursue recovery on multiple fronts simultaneously. Their attorneys send demand letters citing specific NACHA rule violations, file ACH disputes through the banking system, prepare breach of contract claims, and coordinate with the CFPB and state Attorneys General to create regulatory pressure. Over $100M in commercial debt settled. No upfront fees. Results-based pricing.
Important: National Debt Relief is not a law firm and does not handle ACH dispute resolution or overpayment recovery from MCA lenders. They are the largest debt settlement company in the United States, handling general unsecured business debts — credit cards, vendor accounts, lines of credit. If your unauthorized withdrawal situation is resolved and you also carry traditional unsecured debt, National Debt Relief is a proven option.
Important: CuraDebt is not a law firm and does not handle ACH dispute resolution or MCA overpayment recovery. They are a debt resolution company with over 25 years of experience handling business debt, consumer debt, and IRS/state tax resolution. If you also have tax obligations alongside your MCA situation, CuraDebt can address the tax side while a firm like Delancey Street handles the unauthorized withdrawal issue.
When you paid off your merchant cash advance, you expected the daily ACH withdrawals to stop. They did not. This is disturbingly common in the MCA industry, and it happens for several reasons — some administrative, some intentional, all unacceptable.
Reason 1: Disputed Payoff Amount. The MCA lender may claim your payoff calculation is incorrect and that a balance remains. This often happens when the lender applies hidden fees, penalties, or additional charges that were not clearly disclosed in the original agreement or payoff statement. Without a written payoff letter confirming the exact amount due, the lender can manufacture a disputed balance to justify continued withdrawals.
Reason 2: Administrative Failure. Some MCA lenders operate with minimal back-office infrastructure. The ACH debit instruction was never properly terminated in their system, and the withdrawals continue on autopilot. While this may be innocent, the lender is still responsible for the unauthorized withdrawals and must return the funds immediately upon notice.
Reason 3: Bad Faith Revenue Extraction. Some MCA funders intentionally continue withdrawals after payoff, counting on business owners not to notice or not to fight back. Every additional withdrawal is pure profit for the lender with no corresponding obligation. The NY Attorney General’s $1 billion judgment against Yellowstone Capital revealed systematic overcharging practices across MCA funders, including collecting beyond the agreed-upon amounts.
Reason 4: Multiple MCA Contracts. If you had stacked MCAs with the same lender or affiliated entities, the lender may claim that the withdrawals are for a different advance. Review all your MCA agreements to confirm which contracts are active and which have been paid in full.
Reason 5: Sold or Transferred Debt. The original MCA funder may have sold or assigned the MCA contract to a different entity before your payoff. The new holder may not have updated their records to reflect the payoff, or the original funder may have kept the ACH authorization active even after selling the contract. In this scenario, you may need to notify and revoke authorization from both the original funder and the assignee. Request a copy of any assignment agreement to identify all parties with potential access to your account.
Reason 6: Penalty and Fee Disputes. The lender may claim that late payment penalties, default fees, or other charges accrued during the life of the MCA were not included in the payoff amount. Even if the lender has a legitimate claim to additional fees (which should be verified against the contract), they cannot unilaterally debit your account after the payoff has been completed and accepted. The proper remedy is to send an invoice and demand payment — not to continue unauthorized ACH withdrawals.
The first and most urgent action is to revoke the MCA lender’s ACH authorization. This is a two-part process — you must notify both your bank and the MCA lender.
Notify Your Bank. Contact your bank immediately and request an ACH stop payment on the MCA lender’s originator ID. Under Regulation E § 1005.10(c), your bank must honor a stop payment request if received at least three business days before the next scheduled transfer. Provide the request in writing (email is acceptable) and include the lender’s name, originator ID (found on your bank statement), and the instruction to reject all future debits from that originator.
Notify the MCA Lender. Send a written ACH revocation letter to the MCA lender via certified mail with return receipt requested. The letter should state: (1) you are revoking all ACH debit authorization effective immediately; (2) the MCA has been paid in full as of a specific date; (3) all withdrawals after that date are unauthorized; and (4) you demand immediate return of all funds withdrawn after the payoff date. Keep a copy of the letter and the certified mail receipt — these are evidence for any future legal action.
Document Everything. Create a detailed log of every post-payoff withdrawal including the date, amount, and your running total of the overpayment. Print or save your bank statements showing the withdrawals. This documentation is the foundation of your recovery claim.
An attorney-drafted demand letter carries significantly more weight than a consumer-initiated request. The demand letter should cite specific legal theories that support your recovery claim.
Breach of Contract. The MCA agreement specified a total purchase price (the factor rate times the advance amount). Once that amount has been repaid, the contract is fulfilled and any additional withdrawals constitute a breach of contract. The demand letter should identify the specific contractual provision, the date of full repayment, and the total amount withdrawn in excess of the contract price.
Unjust Enrichment. Even if there is a dispute about the payoff amount, the lender cannot retain funds beyond what is owed under any reasonable interpretation of the contract. Unjust enrichment is an equitable claim that allows recovery when one party retains a benefit at another’s expense without legal justification.
Conversion. Conversion is the civil equivalent of theft — it occurs when someone exercises unauthorized control over another person’s property. Each unauthorized withdrawal after payoff constitutes a separate act of conversion. In many states, conversion claims carry the possibility of punitive damages.
EFTA Violations. Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, unauthorized electronic fund transfers can result in liability for the unauthorized amount plus statutory damages. If the lender continued withdrawals after receiving your ACH revocation letter, they have violated federal law.
While your attorney is pursuing the demand letter, you should simultaneously file disputes through the banking system and regulatory channels.
ACH Dispute with Your Bank. File a formal dispute for each unauthorized withdrawal through your bank’s ACH dispute process. Under NACHA rules, your bank (the Receiving Depository Financial Institution) can initiate a return of the unauthorized debits. The bank must provisionally credit your account within 10 business days of your dispute under Regulation E. Keep records of each dispute filing and the bank’s response.
CFPB Complaint. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB has classified merchant cash advances as “credit” under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and they accept complaints about unauthorized withdrawals from MCA lenders. A CFPB complaint creates a federal regulatory record that can motivate the lender to resolve the issue quickly.
State Attorney General Complaint. File a complaint with your state’s Attorney General office. Most states have consumer protection divisions that handle complaints about unauthorized charges and deceptive business practices. If the MCA lender is headquartered in New York, also consider filing with the New York Attorney General, who has been aggressively pursuing MCA funders.
NACHA Complaint. If the ACH debits continue after your revocation, file a complaint with NACHA (the organization that governs the ACH network). NACHA can investigate the originator and impose penalties including suspension from the ACH network — which would effectively shut down the lender’s ability to collect from any borrower.
If the demand letter and regulatory complaints do not result in a full refund, your attorney can pursue legal action to recover the overpayment plus damages.
The lawsuit can include claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion, and EFTA violations. Depending on the total overpayment amount, the case may be filed in small claims court (typically for amounts under $5,000–$25,000 depending on the state), state court, or federal court (if the EFTA claim is included or if diversity jurisdiction requirements are met).
In addition to the overpayment amount, your attorney can seek consequential damages (overdraft fees, bounced check fees, lost business opportunities caused by the unauthorized withdrawals), attorney’s fees (if authorized by the contract or statute), and potentially punitive damages if the lender’s conduct was willful or egregious.
The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits debt settlement companies from charging upfront fees. Delancey Street and other legitimate firms operate on a results-based fee structure, meaning you pay nothing unless they recover your overpayment.
Once you have stopped the current unauthorized withdrawals and initiated recovery of overpayments, take these steps to prevent the situation from recurring with this or any future MCA lender:
Obtain Written Payoff Confirmation. Before making your final payment on any MCA, demand a written payoff letter from the lender specifying the exact payoff amount, the date by which payment must be received, and confirmation that no further debits will be initiated after the payoff is received. Under UCC § 9-210, the lender must respond to your request for an accounting within 14 days. Keep this letter — it is your primary evidence if unauthorized withdrawals occur after payoff.
Revoke ACH Authorization in Writing. After the final payment is confirmed received, send a written ACH revocation to both the MCA lender and your bank. Address the revocation to the lender’s compliance department (not just the account manager) and send it via certified mail with return receipt. Provide your bank with a copy and request that they place a stop payment on any future ACH debits from that originator ID. Under Regulation E, your bank must honor the stop payment instruction.
Request UCC-3 Lien Termination. Insist that the lender file a UCC-3 termination statement with the Secretary of State to release any UCC-1 lien filed against your business. The payoff should trigger automatic termination, but many lenders fail to file unless specifically demanded. Under UCC § 9-513, the lender must file the termination within 20 days of receiving an authenticated demand after the obligation has been satisfied.
Set Up ACH Debit Alerts. Configure your bank account to send real-time alerts for any ACH debit transaction. Many banks allow you to set threshold alerts (e.g., any debit over $100). This ensures you are notified immediately if an unauthorized withdrawal occurs, allowing you to act within the same business day rather than discovering the debit days later when your account is already short.
Maintain Records for 3 Years. Keep all MCA-related documentation — the original agreement, payment records, payoff letter, ACH revocation, and UCC-3 termination confirmation — for at least three years after the final payment. Some MCA lenders have been known to sell “remaining balances” to third-party collectors even after payoff. Your documentation package is your defense against these zombie debts.
Accurately calculating the total amount the MCA lender owes you is essential for your recovery claim. Here is how to build a full overpayment calculation:
Identify the Payoff Date. Determine the exact date your final payoff payment was received by the lender. This is the date from which all subsequent withdrawals are considered unauthorized. If you made the final payment via wire transfer or ACH, the receipt date is typically one business day after initiation. If you paid by check, the receipt date is when the check cleared.
Total All Post-Payoff Withdrawals. Pull bank statements from the payoff date through the present and identify every ACH debit from the MCA lender. Total these debits — this is your baseline overpayment amount. Include any overdraft fees or insufficient funds charges that resulted from the unauthorized withdrawals, as these are consequential damages the lender is responsible for.
Calculate Interest. Under unjust enrichment principles, you are entitled to pre-judgment interest on the overpayment from the date each unauthorized withdrawal occurred. The applicable interest rate varies by state — in New York, the statutory rate is 9% per annum under CPLR § 5004. Your attorney will calculate the interest component for each unauthorized withdrawal.
Include Consequential Damages. If the unauthorized withdrawals caused additional harm — bounced checks to vendors, missed payroll, overdraft fees, lost business opportunities, or credit damage — document these damages as well. They are recoverable as part of your breach of contract and conversion claims.
Present this full calculation to your MCA defense firm. The total recovery amount — principal overpayment plus interest plus consequential damages — often exceeds what business owners initially estimate, making the recovery claim well worth pursuing.
Small Claims Court Option. If the total overpayment is within your state’s small claims court limit (typically $5,000–$10,000, up to $25,000 in some states), you can pursue recovery through small claims court without an attorney. Bring your payoff confirmation letter, bank statements showing post-payoff withdrawals, ACH revocation records, and your overpayment calculation. Small claims court is faster and less expensive than regular civil court, though it limits your recovery to the jurisdictional maximum.
Class Action Potential. If the MCA lender’s practice of continuing post-payoff withdrawals is systematic (affecting many borrowers rather than just you), your attorney may explore whether a class action is appropriate. Class actions consolidate multiple victims’ claims into a single proceeding, increasing the total damages and creating settlement pressure that individual claims cannot match. The Yellowstone Capital case demonstrated that systemic MCA overcharging is a real and widespread practice.
Tax Implications of Recovery. Recovered overpayments may have tax implications. If you previously deducted the MCA payments as a business expense, the recovered funds may need to be reported as income in the year of recovery under the tax benefit rule. Consult with your accountant or tax advisor about the proper treatment of recovered funds. This does not reduce the value of pursuing recovery — it simply means you should plan for the tax impact.
After you demand that unauthorized withdrawals stop, the MCA lender may respond by claiming that you still owe an outstanding balance. This is a common tactic designed to justify the continued debits and put you on the defensive. Here is how to handle it:
Demand a Full Accounting. Under UCC § 9-210, you have the right to demand a complete accounting of the unpaid balance. The lender must respond within 14 days with an itemized statement showing the original advance, the total purchase price, all payments credited, any fees applied, and the resulting balance. Compare this accounting against your own records (bank statements showing every ACH debit). Any discrepancy must be explained by the lender.
Review Your Payoff Documentation. If you received a written payoff letter before making the final payment, the lender is bound by the terms of that letter. If the letter stated a specific payoff amount and you paid that amount, the obligation is satisfied regardless of what the lender now claims. The payoff letter is a contract — the lender accepted your payment under its terms and cannot retroactively change them.
Challenge Undisclosed Fees. Many MCA lenders add fees after payoff that were not disclosed in the original agreement or the payoff letter — “processing fees,” “account closure fees,” or “administrative charges.” If a fee does not appear in the original MCA contract, it is not owed. Your attorney will challenge any post-payoff charges that lack contractual basis.
Do Not Acknowledge the Claimed Balance. Until the lender provides a full accounting that your attorney has verified, do not acknowledge or agree to any additional balance. Statements like “I’ll look into it” or “Let me see if I can pay something” can be used against you. Direct all communications through your attorney.
Verify Against Your Contract. Pull out the original MCA agreement and locate the factor rate and purchase price. The total amount you owe is the advance amount multiplied by the factor rate — nothing more. If your total payments (confirmed by bank statements) equal or exceed this purchase price, you have paid in full and the lender’s claim of a remaining balance is false. This straightforward calculation is your strongest defense against post-payoff balance disputes.
If the numbers do not match, your attorney will identify exactly where the discrepancy lies: miscredited payments, unauthorized fees, or calculation errors. In many cases, the lender’s own accounting reveals that you have actually overpaid — turning their claim of a balance into your claim for a refund.
Here are the three top-rated firms serving business owners whose MCA lenders continue unauthorized withdrawals after payoff in 2026. Only one — Delancey Street — offers attorney-coordinated ACH dispute resolution and overpayment recovery. The other two handle broader categories of business debt.
The only firm on this list that provides attorney-coordinated recovery of unauthorized MCA withdrawals: ACH revocation enforcement, demand letters for overpayment recovery, breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims, and regulatory complaint coordination. Delancey Street is not a law firm, but their attorney-coordinated model delivers the legal pressure needed to force MCA lenders to return funds they have no right to keep. Over $100M settled. No upfront fees. All 50 states.
Not an ACH dispute or overpayment recovery specialist. National Debt Relief handles general unsecured business debt — credit cards, vendor accounts, lines of credit. No demand letters, no breach of contract claims, no ACH revocation enforcement. A proven option for traditional unsecured debt after your MCA situation is resolved.
Not an ACH dispute or overpayment recovery specialist. CuraDebt handles business debt and IRS/state tax resolution. No demand letters, no breach of contract claims. Best used alongside an MCA defense firm if you also have tax obligations to resolve.
Once you have fully paid off your merchant cash advance, the MCA company has no further legal right to withdraw funds from your bank account. Any withdrawal after the payoff date constitutes unauthorized access to your funds. Under the NACHA Operating Rules that govern ACH transactions, an originator (the MCA lender) must have valid authorization for every debit entry. When the underlying obligation has been satisfied, the authorization terminates automatically.
Your bank has an independent obligation to honor ACH stop-payment requests. Under UCC Article 4A, which governs funds transfers, a bank that processes an unauthorized debit after receiving a valid stop-payment order may be liable to you for the amount of the unauthorized transfer plus consequential damages. This gives you two avenues of recovery: against the MCA lender for the unauthorized debit, and potentially against your own bank if it fails to honor your stop-payment request.
State unjust enrichment laws provide a third legal theory. When the MCA lender retains funds collected after the payoff date, they are unjustly enriched at your expense. Courts can order disgorgement of all overpayments plus prejudgment interest. In some states, willful retention of funds that the lender knows belong to another party can trigger conversion claims with punitive damages.
The CFPB complaint portal provides a direct channel to report unauthorized withdrawals after MCA payoff. While the CFPB’s jurisdiction over commercial lending is limited, complaints about unauthorized ACH debits fall squarely within its payment systems oversight authority. Filing a CFPB complaint creates an official record and often prompts the lender to respond within 15 business days.
Business owners should also consider whether the continued withdrawals have caused consequential damages beyond the withdrawal amounts themselves. Bounced checks, overdraft fees, missed payroll, late vendor payments, and damaged business credit all represent recoverable damages in a breach of contract or unjust enrichment action. Keep records of every downstream financial impact caused by the unauthorized withdrawals, as these can significantly increase the total recovery amount.
If your MCA lender is currently withdrawing money after you have paid off the advance, act today. Every additional unauthorized withdrawal is money leaving your account that may be difficult to recover later. An ACH stop-payment request and an attorney demand letter are the two fastest ways to stop the bleeding and begin the recovery process.
Unauthorized withdrawals draining your account? Delancey Street’s attorney network stops the debits, sends demand letters, and recovers every dollar taken after payoff. Over $100M settled. Free consultation.
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