reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-205. Credit service charge on refinancing.

With respect to a consumer credit sale, refinancing, or consolidation, the seller may by agreement with the buyer refinance the unpaid balance and may contract for and receive a credit service charge based on the amount financed resulting from the refinancing at a rate not exceeding that permitted by the provisions on credit service charge for consumer credit sales (Section 37-2-201). For the purpose of determining the credit service charge permitted, the amount financed resulting from the refinancing comprises the following:
(1) If the transaction was not precomputed, the total of the unpaid balance and accrued charges on the date of refinancing, or, if the transaction was precomputed, the amount which the buyer would have been required to pay upon prepayment pursuant to the provisions on rebate upon prepayment (Section 37-2-210) on the date of refinancing, except that for the purpose of computing this amount, no minimum credit service charge [Section 37-2-201(6)] shall be allowed; and
(2) Appropriate additional charges (Section 37-2-202), payment of which is deferred.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.165; 1974 (58) 2879; 1982 Act No. 385, Section 17.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-206. Credit service charge on consolidation.

If a buyer owes an unpaid balance to a seller with respect to a consumer credit sale, refinancing, or consolidation, and becomes obligated on another consumer credit sale, refinancing, or consolidation with the same seller, the parties may agree to a consolidation resulting in a single schedule of payments pursuant to either of the following subsections:
(1) The parties may agree to refinance the unpaid balance with respect to the previous sale pursuant to the provisions on refinancing (Section 37-2-205) and to consolidate the amount financed resulting from the refinancing by adding it to the amount financed with respect to the subsequent sale. The seller may contract for and receive a credit service charge based on the aggregate amount financed resulting from the consolidation at a rate not exceeding that permitted by the provisions on credit service charge for consumer credit sales (Section 37-2-201).
(2) The parties may agree to consolidate by adding together the unpaid balances with respect to the two sales.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.166; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-207. Credit service charge for revolving charge accounts.

(1) With respect to a consumer credit sale made pursuant to a revolving charge account, the parties to the sale may contract for the payment by the buyer of a credit service charge not exceeding that permitted in this section but, if they do not so contract in writing no charge shall be made.
(2) A charge may be made in each billing cycle which is a percentage of an amount no greater than:
(a) the average daily balance of the account,
(b) the unpaid balance of the account on the same day of the billing cycle, or
(c) the median amount within a specified range within which the average daily balance of the account or the unpaid balance of the account on the same day of the billing cycle is included. A charge may be made pursuant to this paragraph only if the seller, subject to classifications and differentiations he may reasonably establish, makes the same charge on all balances within the specified range and if the percentage when applied to the median amount within the range does not produce a charge exceeding the charge resulting from applying that percentage to the lowest amount within the range by more than eight percent of the charge on the median amount.
(3) If the billing cycle is monthly, the charge may not exceed that authorized by Section 37-2-201 on the amount specified in subsection (2). If the billing cycle is not monthly, the maximum charge is that percentage which bears the same relation to the applicable monthly percentage as the number of days in the billing cycle bears to thirty. For the purposes of this section, a variation of not more than four days from month to month is the same day of the billing cycle.
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), if there is an unpaid balance on the same date as of which the credit service charge is applied, the seller may contract for and receive a charge not exceeding fifty cents if the billing cycle is monthly or longer, or the pro rata part of fifty cents which bears the same relation to fifty cents as the number of days in the billing cycle bears to thirty if the billing cycle is shorter than monthly.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (3), and except for subsection (4), no less than forty percent of any scheduled minimum payment for that billing cycle must be applied to principal reduction in that billing cycle, provided, however, that failure to apply the forty percent of a scheduled minimum payment is not a violation of this subsection when the consumer has agreed in writing to a promotion offered by the creditor that includes deferred payments, deferred or waived finance charges, a combination thereof, or other special financing terms. Such exception shall only apply during the period of time necessary to comply with the provisions of the promotional agreement identified in writing to the customer.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.167; 1974 (58) 2879; 1980 Act No. 433, Section 1; 1982 Act No. 385, Section 18; 1995 Act No. 135, Section 8.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-208. Advances to perform covenants of buyer.

(1) If the agreement with respect to a consumer credit sale, refinancing, or consolidation contains covenants by the buyer to perform certain duties pertaining to insuring or preserving collateral and the seller pursuant to the agreement pays for performance of the duties on behalf of the buyer, the seller may add the amounts paid to the debt. Within a reasonable time after advancing any sums, he shall state to the buyer in writing the amount of the sums advanced, any charges with respect to this amount, and any revised payment schedule and, if the duties of the buyer performed by the seller pertain to insurance, a brief description of the insurance paid for by the seller including the type and amount of coverages. No further information need be given.
(2) A credit service charge may be made for sums advanced pursuant to subsection (1) at a rate not exceeding the rate stated to the buyer pursuant to the provisions on disclosure (part 3) with respect to the sale, refinancing, or consolidation, except that with respect to a revolving charge account the amount of the advance may be added to the unpaid balance of the account and the seller may make a credit service charge not exceeding that permitted by the provisions on credit service charge for revolving charge accounts (Section 37-2-207).
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.168; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-209. Right to prepay.

Subject to the provisions on rebate upon prepayment (Section 37-2-210), the buyer may prepay in full the unpaid balance of a consumer credit sale refinancing or consolidation at any time without penalty.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.169; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-301. Compliance with Federal Truth in Lending Act.

A person upon whom the Federal Truth in Lending Act imposes duties or obligations shall make or give to the consumer the disclosures, information and notices required of him by that act and in all respects comply with that act.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.181; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-302. Receipts; statement of account; evidence of payment.

(1) The creditor shall deliver or mail to the consumer, without request, a written receipt for each payment by coin or currency on an obligation pursuant to a consumer credit sale. A periodic statement showing a payment received by mail complies with this subsection.
(2) Upon written request of a consumer, the person to whom an obligation is owed pursuant to a consumer credit sale, except one pursuant to a revolving charge account, shall provide a written statement of the dates and amounts of payments made within the 12 months preceding the month in which the request is received and the total amount unpaid as of the end of the period covered by the statement. The statement shall be provided without charge once during each year of the term of the obligation. If additional statements are requested the creditor may charge not in excess of $2.00 for each additional statement.
(3) After a consumer has fulfilled all obligations with respect to a consumer credit sale except one pursuant to a revolving charge account, the person to whom the obligation was owed, upon request of the consumer, shall deliver or mail to the consumer written evidence acknowledging payment in full of all obligations with respect to the transaction.
HISTORY: 1976 Act No. 686 Section 15.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-303. Notice to cosigner and similar parties.

(1) A natural person, other than the spouse of the consumer, is not obligated as a cosigner, comaker, guarantor, indorser, surety, or similar party with respect to a consumer credit sale, unless before or contemporaneously with signing any separate agreement of obligation or any writing setting forth the terms of the debtor's agreement, the person receives a separate written notice that contains a completed identification of the debt he may have to pay and reasonably informs him of his obligation with respect to it.
(2) A clear and conspicuous notice in substantially the following form complies with this section:
NOTICE
You agree to pay the debt identified below although you may not personally receive any property, services, or money. You may be sued for payment although the person who receives the property, services, or money is able to pay. This notice is not the contract that obligates you to pay the debt. Read the contract for the exact terms of your obligation.
IDENTIFICATION OF DEBT YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY (Name of Debtor) (Name of Creditor) (Date) (Kind of Debt) I have received a copy of this notice. (Date) (Signed)
(3) The notice required by this section need not be given to a seller, lessor, or lender who is obligated to an assignee of his rights.
(4) A person entitled to notice under this section shall also be given a copy of any writing setting forth the terms of the debtor's agreement and of any separate agreement of obligation signed by the person entitled to the notice.
(5) A notice to cosigner which complies with the Federal Trade Commission's Trade Regulation Rule on Credit Practices (16 C.F.R. Section 444) complies with this section provided that the notice does not indicate that the creditor may collect any amount or engage in any activity which would be illegal under South Carolina law, and the notice contains the following information signed and dated by the co-signer.
IDENTIFICATION OF DEBT YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY
(Name of Debtor) (Name of Creditor) (Date) (Kind of Debt) I have received a copy of this notice. ." (Date) (Signed)
HISTORY: 1976 Act No. 686 Section 15; 1991 Act No. 142, Section 5.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-304. Advertising.

(1) A seller or lessor may not advertise, print, display, publish, distribute, broadcast, or cause to be advertised, printed, displayed, published, distributed, or broadcast in any manner any statement or representation with regard to the rates, terms, or conditions of credit with respect to a consumer credit sale that is false, misleading, or deceptive.
(2) Advertising that complies with the Federal Truth in Lending Act does not violate this section.
(3) This section does not apply to the owner or personnel, as such, of any medium in which an advertisement appears or through which it is disseminated.
HISTORY: 1976 Act No. 686 Section 15.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-306. Notice of assumption of rights.

(A) Every creditor engaged in this State in making consumer credit sales pursuant to a seller credit card shall:
(1) file on or before January thirty-first of each year with the Department of Consumer Affairs for every seller card plan it offers to South Carolina residents the disclosures required for credit and charge card applications and solicitations by the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act, Federal Reserve Board Regulation Z, Section 226.5a(b), 12 C.F.R. Section 226.5a(b), and any amendments or replacements. The disclosures required by this section must be based on fees and charges and other terms in effect as of December thirty-first of the prior year. The required disclosures may be filed by providing one or more actual applications or solicitations used by the creditor which contain the required disclosures or by providing the disclosures on one or more of the Model Forms in Appendix G of Federal Reserve Board Regulation Z. The annual filing fee for each creditor is twenty dollars, payable at the time the disclosures are filed regardless of the number of filings; and
(2) file with the Department of Consumer Affairs current figures on the disclosures required by item (1) within thirty days after receiving a written request for this information from the administrator. No filing fee may be imposed for this information request.
(B) Failure to file the disclosures required by this section and any errors in these disclosures does not affect the validity of any transaction or the maximum rates or charges in any transaction made by the creditor, but the creditor is subject to the administrative remedies in Part 1 of Chapter 6.
HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 21; 1991 Act No. 142, Section 7.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-309. Manufactured home credit disclosure; material terms.

(A) An estimate of the disclosures required by Section 37-2-301 is required in connection with a credit sale of a purchaser-occupied manufactured home not less than two days before the consummation of the transaction as defined in 12 C.F.R. Section 226.2(a)(13). The estimated disclosure must be accompanied by the itemization of the amount financed. With respect to a credit sale that is secured by real property, the disclosures required by the Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act are applicable.
(B) If the seller turns down the applicant for the credit sale before making the disclosures, the disclosures as provided in subsection (A) are not required. With respect to a credit sale that is secured by real property, the disclosures required by the Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act are applicable.
(C)(1) If the seller determines that a material term of the credit sale must change, then the seller shall redisclose the estimated disclosures to conform to the changed terms and the transaction must not be consummated until one day after the redisclosure.
(2) A material term of the credit sale includes:
(a) the number of payments of the transaction;
(b) a feature of the transaction causing it to be an alternative mortgage transaction as defined in 12 U.S. Code Section 3802(1) when the transaction as previously disclosed was not an alternative mortgage transaction;
(c) a term or fee in the transaction or combination of terms or fees causing the annual percentage rate to vary more than one quarter of one percent of the annual percentage rate previously disclosed; or
(d) any insurance premiums, prepaid finance charges, third-party fees, or preparation charges that vary from the previously disclosed insurance premiums, prepaid finance charges, third-party fees, or preparation charges by the lesser of five hundred dollars in the aggregate or one percent of the estimated amount disclosed pursuant to subsection (A).
HISTORY: 2003 Act No. 42, Section 3.A, eff Jan. 1, 2004, and applying to loans for which the loan applications were taken on or after that date.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-402. Use of multiple agreements.

A seller may not use multiple agreements with respect to a single consumer credit sale with intent to obtain a higher rate of credit service charge than would otherwise be permitted by the provisions on credit service charges for consumer credit sales (Section 37-2-201). The excess amount of credit service charge resulting from a violation of this section is an excess charge for the purpose of the provisions on rights of parties (Section 37-5-202) and the provision on civil actions by the administrator (Section 37-6-113).
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.192; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 61.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-403. Certain negotiable instruments prohibited.

With respect to a consumer credit sale or consumer lease, the creditor may not take a negotiable instrument other than a check dated not later than ten days after its issuance as evidence of the obligation of the consumer.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.193; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 16.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-404. Assignee subject to claims and defenses.

(1) With respect to a consumer credit sale or consumer lease, an assignee of the rights of the seller or lessor is subject to all claims and defenses of the consumer against the seller or lessor arising from the sale or lease of property or services, notwithstanding that the assignee is a holder in due course of a negotiable instrument issued in violation of the provisions prohibiting certain negotiable instruments (Section 37-2-403).
(2) A claim or defense of a consumer specified in subsection (1) may be asserted against the assignee under this section only if the consumer has made a good faith attempt to obtain satisfaction from the seller or lessor with respect to the claim or defense and then only to the extent of the amount owing to the assignee with respect to the sale or lease of the property or services as to which the claim or defense arose at the time the assignee has written notice of the claim or defense. Written notice of the claim or defense may be given before the attempt specified in this subsection. For the purposes of this section, written notice is any written notification other than notice on a coupon, billing statement or other payment medium or material supplied by the assignee.
(3) For the purpose of determining the amount owing to the assignee with respect to the sale or lease:
(a) payments received by the assignee after the consolidation of two or more consumer credit sales, except pursuant to a revolving charge account, are deemed to have been applied first to the payment of the sales first made; if the sales consolidated arose from sales made on the same day, payments are deemed to have been applied first to the smallest sale; and
(b) payments received for a revolving charge account are deemed to have been applied first to the payment of finance charges in the order of their entry to the account and then to the payment of debts in the order in which the entries of the debts are made to the account.
(4) A card issuer, including a seller credit card issuer, is subject to the claims and defenses of the consumer arising from the sale or lease of property or services pursuant to the credit card in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-3-411.
(5) An agreement may not limit or waive the claims or defenses of a consumer under this section.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.194; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 17.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-405. Balloon payments.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), if any scheduled payment of a consumer credit sale is more than twice as large as the average of earlier scheduled payments, the consumer has the right to refinance, without penalty, the amount of that payment at the time it is due. The terms of the refinancing shall be no less favorable to the consumer than the terms of the original transaction.
(2) This section does not apply to:
(a) a transaction pursuant to a revolving charge account;
(b) a transaction to the extent that the payment schedule is adjusted to the seasonal or irregular income or scheduled payments or obligations of the consumer;
(c) a credit transaction to the extent a formula for determining the rate of the credit service charge and any change in the amount of payment upon renegotiation or refinancing is specified in the agreement between the parties or is an alternative mortgage instrument; or
(d) a transaction of a class defined by rule of the administrator as not requiring for the protection of the consumer his right to refinance as provided in this section.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.195; 1974 (58) 2879; 1982 Act No. 385, Section 22; 1989 Act No. 144, Section 3.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-406. Restriction on liability in consumer lease.

The obligation of a lessee upon expiration of a consumer lease may not exceed three times the average payment allocable to a monthly period under the lease. This limitation does not apply to charges for damages to the leased property or for other default.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.196; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 58.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-407. Security in sales and leases.

(1) With respect to a consumer credit sale, a seller may take a security interest in the property sold. In addition, a seller may take a security interest in goods upon which services are performed or in which goods sold are installed or to which they are annexed, or in land to which the goods are affixed or which is maintained, repaired or improved as a result of the sale of the goods or services, if in the case of a security interest in land the debt secured is $1,000 or more, or, in the case of a security interest in goods the debt secured is $300 or more. Except as provided with respect to cross-collateral (Section 37-2-408) a seller may not otherwise take a security interest in property to secure the debt arising from a consumer credit sale.
(2) With respect to a consumer lease, a lessor may not take a security interest in property to secure the debt arising from the lease. This subsection does not apply to a security deposit for a consumer lease.
(3) A security interest taken in violation of this section is void.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.197; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 18.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-408. Cross-collateral.

(1) In addition to contracting for a security interest pursuant to the provisions on security in sales or leases (Section 37-2-407), a seller in a consumer credit sale may secure the debt arising from the sale by contracting for a security interest in other property if as a result of a prior sale the seller has an existing security interest in the other property. The seller may also contract for a security interest in the property sold in the subsequent sale as security for the previous debt.
(2) If the seller contracts for a security interest in other property pursuant to this section, the rate of credit service charge thereafter on the aggregate unpaid balances so secured may not exceed that permitted if the balances so secured were consolidated pursuant to the provisions on consolidation involving a refinancing (subsection (1) of Section 37-2-206). The seller has a reasonable time after so contracting to make any adjustments required by this section. "Seller" in this section does not include an assignee not related to the original seller.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.198; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-409. Debt secured by cross-collateral.

(1) If debts arising from two or more consumer credit sales, other than sales pursuant to a revolving charge account, are secured by cross-collateral (Section 37-2-408) or consolidated into one debt payable on a single schedule of payments, and the debt is secured by security interests taken with respect to one or more of the sales, payments received by the seller after the taking of the cross-collateral or the consolidation are deemed, for the purpose of determining the amount of the debt secured by the various security interests, to have been applied pro rata to the payment of the debts arising from the sales. Proration shall be computed on the original debts secured by the various security interests. To the extent debts are paid according to this section, security interests in items of property terminate as the debts originally incurred with respect to each item are paid.
(2) Payments received by the seller upon a revolving charge account are deemed, for the purpose of determining the amount of the debt secured by the various security interests, to have been applied first to the payment of credit service charges in the order of their entry to the account and then to the payment of debts in the order in which the entries to the account showing the debts were made.
(3) If the debts consolidated arose from two or more sales made on the same day, payments received by the seller are deemed for the purpose of determining the amount of the debt secured by the various security interests, to have been applied first to the payment of the smallest debt.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.199; 1974 (58) 2879; 1982 Act No. 385, Section 23.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-410. No assignment of earnings.

A seller or lessor may not take an assignment of earnings of the buyer or lessee for payment or as security for payment of a debt arising out of a consumer credit sale or a consumer lease. An assignment of earnings in violation of this section is unenforceable by the assignee of the earnings and revocable by the buyer or lessee. This section does not prohibit an employee from authorizing deductions from his earnings if the authorization is revocable.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.200; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-411. Referral sales and leases.

With respect to a consumer credit sale or consumer lease, the seller or lessor may not give or offer to give a rebate or discount or otherwise pay or offer to pay value to the consumer as an inducement for a sale or lease for the consumer giving to the seller or lessor the names of prospective buyers or lessees, or otherwise aiding the seller or lessor in making a sale or lease to another person, if the earning of the rebate, discount or other value is contingent upon the occurrence of an event after the time the consumer agrees to buy or lease. If a consumer is induced by a violation of this section to enter into a consumer credit sale or consumer lease, the agreement is unenforceable by the seller or lessor and the consumer, at his option, may rescind the agreement or retain the property delivered and the benefit of any services performed, without any obligation to pay for them. A sale or lease that would be a referral sale or lease if credit were extended by the seller or lessor is nonetheless so because the property or services are paid for in whole or in part by use of a credit card or by a consumer loan with respect to which the lender is subject to claims and defenses arising from the sale or lease (Section 37-3-410), and the consumer has the same rights against the card issuer or lender that he has against the seller or lessor under this section.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.201; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 19.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-412. Notice of assignment.

The buyer or lessee is authorized to pay the original seller or lessor until the buyer or lessee receives notification of assignment of the rights to payment pursuant to a consumer credit sale or consumer lease and that payment is to be made to the assignee. A notification which does not reasonably identify the rights assigned is ineffective. If requested by the buyer or lessee, the assignee must seasonably furnish reasonable proof that the assignment has been made and unless he does so the buyer or lessee may pay the seller or lessor.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.202; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-413. Attorney's fees.

(1) With respect to a consumer credit sale or consumer lease the agreement may provide for the payment by the buyer or lessee of reasonable attorney's fees not in excess of fifteen percent of the unpaid debt after default and referral to an attorney not a salaried employee of the seller, or of the lessor or his assignee. A provision in violation of this section is unenforceable.
(2) With respect to a consumer credit sale that is secured in whole or in part by a lien on real estate, the provisions of Section 37-10-102(a) apply whenever the seller requires the debtor to purchase insurance or pay any attorney's fees in connection with examining the title and closing the transaction.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.203; 1974 (58) 2879; 1982 Act No. 385, Section 24; 1984 Act No. 355, Section 5.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-414. Limitation on default charges.

Except for reasonable expenses incurred in realizing on a security interest, the agreement with respect to a consumer credit sale may not provide for any charges as a result of default by the buyer other than those authorized by this title. A provision in violation of this section is unenforceable.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.204; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-415. Authorization to confess judgment prohibited.

A buyer or lessee may not authorize any person to confess judgment on a claim arising out of a consumer credit sale or consumer lease. An authorization in violation of this section is void.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.205; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-416. Change in terms of revolving charge accounts.

(1) Whether or not a change is authorized by prior agreement, a creditor may change the terms of a revolving charge account applying to any balance incurred before or after the effective date of the change. If the change increases the rate of the credit service charge or of additional charges, alters the method of determining the balance upon which charges are made so that increased charges may result, or imposes or increases minimum charges, the change is effective with respect to a balance incurred before the effective date of the change only if the consumer after receiving disclosure of the change agrees to it in writing or the creditor delivers or mails to the consumer one written disclosure of the change at least thirty days before the effective date. The written disclosure must state that if the consumer does not want to continue the revolving account under the new terms the creditor will terminate the account and permit the consumer to pay the existing balance under the terms in effect before the change in terms on the written request of the consumer sent to the creditor at the address provided in the disclosure. The disclosure also must state that the consumer may apply for another revolving account on the new terms.
(2) A disclosure provided for in subsection (1) is mailed to the consumer when mailed to him at his address used by the creditor for mailing him periodic billing statements.
(3) If a creditor attempts to change the terms of a revolving charge account as provided in subsection (1) without complying with this section, any additional cost or charge to the consumer resulting from the change is an excess charge and is subject to the remedies available to the consumer (Section 37-5-202) and to the administrator (Section 37-6-113).
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.206; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 14; 1980 Act No. 433, Section 4; 1989 Act No. 144, Section 1.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-501. Definition: "home solicitation sale".

"Home solicitation sale" means a consumer credit sale of goods or services in which the seller or a person acting for him personally solicits the sale, and the buyer's agreement or offer to purchase is given to the seller or a person acting for him, at a residence. It does not include a sale made pursuant to a pre-existing revolving charge account with the seller or pursuant to prior negotiations between the parties at a business establishment at a fixed location where goods or services are offered or exhibited for sale, a transaction conducted and consummated entirely by mail or telephone, or a sale which is subject to the provisions of the Federal Truth in Lending Act on the consumer's right to rescind certain transactions. A sale that would be a home solicitation sale if credit were extended by the seller is nonetheless so because the goods or services are paid for in whole or in part by use of a credit card or by a consumer loan with respect to which the lender is subject to claims and defenses arising from the sale (Section 37-3-410), and the buyer has the same rights against the card issuer or lender that he has against the seller under this part.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.211; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 20.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-502. Buyer's right to cancel.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (5), in addition to any right otherwise to revoke an offer, the buyer may cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase which complies with this part.
(2) Cancellation occurs when the buyer gives written notice of cancellation to the seller at the address stated in the agreement or offer to purchase.
(3) Notice of cancellation, if given by mail, is given when it is properly addressed with postage prepaid and deposited in a mailbox.
(4) Notice of cancellation given by the buyer need not take a particular form and is sufficient if it indicates by any form of written expression the intention of the buyer not to be bound by the home solicitation sale.
(5) The buyer may not cancel a home solicitation sale if, by a separate dated and signed statement that is not as to its material provisions a printed form and describes an emergency requiring immediate remedy, the buyer requests the seller to provide goods or services without delay in order to safeguard the health, safety, or welfare of natural persons or to prevent damage to property the buyer owns or for which he is responsible, and:
(a) the seller in good faith makes a substantial beginning of performance of the contract before the buyer gives notice of cancellation; and
(b) in the case of goods, they cannot be returned to the seller in substantially as good condition as when received by the buyer.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.212; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 20.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-503. Form of agreement or offer; statement of buyer's rights.

(1) In a home solicitation sale, unless the buyer requests the seller to provide goods or services without delay in an emergency (subsection (5) of Section 37-2-502), the seller shall present to the buyer and obtain his signature to a written agreement or offer to purchase that designates as the date of the transaction the date on which the buyer actually signs and contains a statement of the buyer's rights that complies with subsection (2). A copy of any writing required by this subsection to be signed by the buyer, completed at least as to the date of the transaction and the name and mailing address of the seller, shall be given to the buyer at the time he signs the writing.
(2) The statement shall either:
(a) comply with any notice of cancellation or similar requirement of any trade regulation rule of the Federal Trade Commission which by its terms applies to the home solicitation sale; or
(b) appear under the conspicuous caption: "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL," and read as follows: "If you decide you do not want the goods or services, you may cancel this agreement by mailing a notice to the seller. The notice must say that you do not want the goods or services and must be mailed before midnight of the third business day after you sign this agreement. The notice must be mailed to:
." (insert name & mailing address of seller)
(3) Until the seller has complied with this section the buyer may cancel the home solicitation sale by notifying the seller in any manner and by any means of his intention to cancel.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.213; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 20.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-504. Restoration of down payment.

(1) Within ten days after a notice of cancellation has been received by the seller or an offer to purchase has been otherwise revoked, the seller shall tender to the buyer any payments made by the buyer, any note or other evidence of indebtedness, and any goods traded in. A provision permitting the seller to keep all or any part of any goods traded in, payment, note, or evidence of indebtedness is in violation of this section and unenforceable.
(2) If the down payment includes goods traded in, the goods shall be tendered in substantially as good condition as when received by the seller. If the seller fails to tender the goods as provided by this section, the buyer may elect to recover an amount equal to the trade-in allowance stated in the agreement.
(3) Until the seller has complied with the obligations imposed by this section the buyer may retain possession of goods delivered to him by the seller and has a lien on the goods in his possession or control for any recovery to which he is entitled.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.214; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 20.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-505. Duty of buyer; no compensation for services before cancellation.

(1) Except as provided by the provisions on retention of goods by the buyer (subsection (3) of Section 37-2-504), and allowing for ordinary wear and tear or consumption of the goods contemplated by the transaction, within a reasonable time after a home solicitation sale has been cancelled or an offer to purchase revoked, the buyer upon demand shall tender to the seller any goods delivered by the seller pursuant to the sale, but he is not obligated to tender at any place other than his residence. If the seller fails to demand possession of goods within a reasonable time after cancellation or revocation, the goods become the property of the buyer without obligation to pay for them. For the purpose of this section, a reasonable time is presumed to be forty days.
(2) The buyer shall take reasonable care of the goods in his possession before cancellation or revocation and for a reasonable time thereafter, during which time the goods are otherwise at the seller's risk.
(3) If a home solicitation sale is cancelled, the seller is not entitled to compensation for any services he performed pursuant to it.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.215; 1974 (58) 2879; 1976 Act No. 686 Section 20.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-506. Compliance with Federal Trade Commission Trade Regulation Rule.

A seller may elect to comply with the Federal Trade Commission Trade Regulation Rule regarding door-to-door sales and such compliance shall constitute compliance with this part.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.216; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-601. Sales subject to title by agreement of parties.

The parties to a sale other than a consumer credit sale may agree in a writing signed by the parties that the sale is subject to the provisions of this title applying to consumer credit sales. If the parties so agree the sale is a consumer credit sale for the purposes of this title.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.221; 1974 (58) 2879.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-701. Definitions.

In this Part:
(1) "Advertisement" means a commercial message in any medium that promotes, directly or indirectly, a consumer rental-purchase agreement.
(2) "Consummation" means the time a lessee becomes contractually obligated on a consumer rental-purchase agreement.
(3) "Lessee" means a natural person who rents personal property under a consumer rental-purchase agreement.
(4) "Lessor" means a person who regularly provides the use of property through consumer rental-purchase agreements and to whom the obligation is initially payable on its face.
(5) "Personal property" means any property that is not real property under the laws of the state where it is located when it is made available for a consumer rental-purchase agreement.
(6) "Consumer rental-purchase agreement" means an agreement for the use of personal property by an individual primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, for an initial period of four months or less (whether or not there is any obligation beyond the initial period) that is automatically renewable with each payment and that permits the consumer to become the owner of the property. The term does not include a consumer credit sale as defined in Section 37-2-104, or a consumer loan as defined in Section 37-3-104, or a refinancing or consolidation thereof, or a consumer lease as defined in Section 37-2-106.
HISTORY: 1985 Act No. 121, Section 6.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-702. Required disclosures; manner of disclosure; when disclosures required.

(1) In a consumer rental-purchase agreement, the lessor shall disclose the following items, as applicable:
(a) the total of scheduled payments;
(b) the number, amounts, and timing of all payments including taxes paid to or through the lessor necessary to acquire ownership of the property;
(c) a statement that the lessee will not own the property until the lessee has made the number of payments and the total of scheduled payments necessary to acquire ownership of the property;
(d) a statement that the total of payments does not include other charges, such as late payment charges, and that the consumer should see the contract for an explanation of these charges;
(e) if applicable, a statement that the lessee is responsible for the fair market value of the property if and as of the time it is lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed;
(f) a statement indicating whether the property is new or used, provided, it is not a violation of this section to indicate that the property is used if it is actually new;
(g) a statement that at any time after the first periodic payment is made, the lessee may acquire ownership of the property by tendering fifty-five percent of the difference between the total of scheduled payments and the total amount paid on the account.
(2) The administrator of the Department of Consumer Affairs may promulgate regulations setting requirements for the order and conspicuousness of the disclosures set forth in subitems (a) through (h). These regulations may allow these disclosures to be made in accordance with model forms prepared by the administrator.
(3) In a consumer rental-purchase agreement, the lessor shall make the disclosures required by subsection (1) clearly and conspicuously, and a copy must be given to the lessee for his records.
(4) In a consumer rental-purchase agreement, the lessor shall make the disclosures in the manner required by subsection (2) before consummation of the transaction.
HISTORY: 1985 Act No. 121, Section 6.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-703. Renegotiation; extension of agreement.

(a) A renegotiation occurs when an existing consumer rental-purchase agreement is satisfied and replaced by a new consumer rental-purchase agreement undertaken by the same lessor and lessee. A renegotiation is a new lease requiring new disclosures. However, the following events are not treated as renegotiations:
(1) the addition or return of property in a multiple-item agreement or the substitution of the leased property, if in either case the average payment allocable to a payment period is not changed by more than twenty-five percent;
(2) a deferral or extension of one or more periodic payments, or portions of a periodic payment;
(3) a reduction in charges in the agreement;
(4) a lease or agreement involved in a court proceeding;
(b) No disclosures are required for any extension of a consumer rental-purchase agreement.
HISTORY: 1985 Act No. 121, Section 6.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code › Chapter 2 - Credit Sales › Section 37-2-704. Advertisements; statement of terms.

(1) If an advertisement for a consumer rental-purchase agreement refers to or states the amount of any payment or the right to acquire ownership for a specific item, the advertisement must also clearly and conspicuously state the following terms as applicable:
(a) that the transaction advertised is a consumer rental-purchase agreement.
(b) the total of payments necessary to acquire ownership.
(c) that the lessee will not own the property until the total amount necessary to acquire ownership is paid either by payment of the total of payments over the full term of the agreement or by prepayment as provided for by law.
(2) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (1), if the advertisement is published by way of radio announcement or on a roadside billboard, the lessor need only make the disclosures required by items (a) and (c) of subsection (1).
HISTORY: 1985 Act No. 121, Section 6.