2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 7 - BANKING AND FINANCE (§§ 7-1-1 — 7-9-13) › Chapter 3 - INSTALLMENT LOANS (§§ 7-3-1 — 7-3-52) › Article 5 - INVESTIGATIONS AND EXAMINATIONS; SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSE (§§ 7-3-40 — 7-3-52) › Section 7-3-50 - Criminal penalties; void loans; civil penalty to borrower for violation; violation not subject of class action; defense of good faith; limitation on remedies for voidness

(a)
Any person, including the executive officers, directors, trustees, owners, agents, and employees of such person, that willfully engages in the business of making installment loans without a license or an exemption pursuant to Code Section
7-3-4
shall be guilty of a felony and punished as provided in Code Section
7-1-845
.
(b)
Any person who makes a false statement under oath in an application for a license under this chapter or who engages in the business of making installment loans while the license of such person under this chapter is suspended shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c)
Any contract made under this chapter by a person guilty of a felony or misdemeanor under subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section shall be null and void.
(d)
Any installment lender who fails to comply with this chapter shall be liable to the borrower or borrowers thereon for a single penalty in an amount equal to twice the amount of all interest and loan fees charged to said borrower or borrowers on the most recent loan made by the lender to said borrower or borrowers; provided, however, that the liability under this subsection shall not be less than $100.00.
(e)
A licensee shall have no liability under subsection (d) of this Code section if, within 15 days after discovering an error or violation and prior to the institution of an action under this Code section or the receipt of written notice of the error or violation, the lender notifies the person concerned of the error or violation and makes any necessary adjustments in the appropriate account to ensure that such person will not be required to pay charges in excess of those permitted by this chapter.
(f)
A licensee shall not be liable for a violation of this chapter if the licensee shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide clerical or typographical error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error, and makes any necessary adjustments in the appropriate account to ensure that no borrower will be required to pay charges in excess of those permitted by this chapter.
(g)
A claim of violation of this chapter against a licensee may be asserted in an individual action only and may not be the subject of a class action under Code Section
9-11-23
or any other provision of law. A claim of violation of this chapter against an unlicensed lender may be asserted in a class action under Code Section
9-11-23
or any other provision of law.
(h)
If a contract is made in good faith in conformity with an interpretation of this chapter by the appellate courts of this state or in a rule or regulation promulgated by the department, no provision in this Code section imposing any penalty shall apply, notwithstanding that, after such contract is made, such rule or regulation is amended, rescinded, or determined by judicial or other authority to be invalid for any reason.
(i)
Any installment lender who shall knowingly and willfully with intent to defraud a borrower make a contract in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and the contract so made shall be null and void.
Renumbered from §
7-3-29
and amended by 2020 Ga. Laws 409,§ 2, eff. 6/30/2020.
Amended by 2004 Ga. Laws 440, § 1, eff. 5/1/2004.