(a) Any application form or preapproved written solicitation for a credit card issued in connection with a retail installment account that is mailed on or after October 1, 1987, to a retail buyer residing in this state by or on behalf of a retail seller, whether or not the retail seller is located in this state, other than an application form or solicitation included in a magazine, newspaper, or other publication distributed by someone other than the retail seller, shall contain or be accompanied by either of the following disclosures:

(1) A disclosure of each of the following, if applicable:

Ask a litigation question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified litigation lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(A) Any periodic rate or rates that will be used to determine the finance charge imposed on the balance due under the terms of a retail installment account, expressed as an annual percentage rate or rates.

(B) Any membership or participation fee that will be imposed for availability of a retail installment account in connection with which a credit card is issued expressed as an annualized amount.

(C) If the retail seller provides a period during which the retail buyer may repay the full balance reflected on a billing statement that is attributable to purchases of goods or services from the retail seller without the imposition of additional finance charges, the retail seller shall either disclose the minimum number of days of that period, calculated from the closing date of the prior billing cycle to the date designated in the billing statement sent to the retail buyer as the date by which that payment must be received to avoid additional finance charges, or describe the manner in which the period is calculated. For purposes of this section, the period shall be referred to as the “free period” or “free-ride period.” If the retail seller does not provide this period for purchases, the disclosure shall so indicate.

(2) A disclosure that satisfies the initial disclosure statement requirements of Regulation Z (12 C.F.R. § 226.6).

(b) In the event that an unsolicited application form is mailed or otherwise delivered to retail buyers in more than one state, the requirements of subdivision (a) shall be satisfied if on the application form or the soliciting material there is a notice that credit terms may vary from state to state and that provides either the disclosures required by subdivision (a) or an address or phone number for the customer to use to obtain the disclosure. The notice shall be in boldface type no smaller than the largest type used in the narrative portion, excluding headlines, of the material soliciting the application. Any person responding to the notice shall be given the disclosures required by subdivision (a).

(c) A retail seller need not present the disclosures required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) in chart form or use any specific terminology, except as expressly provided in this section. The following chart shall not be construed in any way as a standard by which to determine whether a retail seller who elects not to use the chart has provided the required disclosures in a manner which satisfies paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). However, disclosures shall be conclusively presumed to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) if a chart with captions substantially as follows is completed with the applicable terms offered by the retail seller, or if the retail seller presents the applicable terms in tabular, list, or narrative format using terminology substantially similar to the captions included in the following chart:

(d) For purposes of this section, “Regulation Z” has the meaning attributed to it under Section 1802.18, and all of the terms used in this section have the same meaning as attributed to them in federal Regulation Z (12 C.F.R. § 226.1 et seq.).

(e) Nothing in this section shall be deemed or construed to prohibit a retail seller from disclosing additional terms, conditions, or information, whether or not relating to the disclosures required under this section, in conjunction with the disclosures required by this section. Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 1748.11, a retail seller that complies with the requirements of Section 1748.11 shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of this section.

(f) If a retail seller is required under federal law to make any disclosure of the terms applicable to a retail installment account in connection with application forms or solicitations, the retail seller shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) with respect to those application forms or solicitations if the retail seller complies with the federal disclosure requirement.

(g) If the disclosure required by this section does not otherwise appear on an application form or an accompanying retail installment agreement distributed in this state on or after October 1, 1987, other than by mail, the application form shall include a statement in substantially the following form:

“If you wish to receive disclosure of the terms of this retail installment account, pursuant to the Areias Retail Installment Account Full Disclosure Act of 1986, check here and return to the address on this form.”

A box shall be printed in or next to this statement for placing such a checkmark.

(h) This article does not apply to (1) any application form or preapproved written solicitation for a retail installment account credit card where the credit to be extended will be secured by a lien on real or personal property, or both real and personal property, (2) any application form or written solicitation that invites a person or persons to apply for a retail installment account credit card and which is included as part of a catalog which is sent to one or more persons by a creditor in order to facilitate a credit sale of goods offered in the catalog, (3) any advertisement which does not invite, directly or indirectly, an application for a retail installment account credit card, and (4) any application form or written advertisement included in a magazine, newspaper, or other publication distributed in more than one state by someone other than the creditor.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 159, Sec. 34. Effective January 1, 2002.)