Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 2406
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 2406
- buyer: means a person who buys or agrees to buy goods from a retail seller in a retail installment transaction, or who obtains services or agrees to have services furnished or rendered from a retail seller in a retail installment transaction. See
- Cash price: means the minimum price for which the goods and services subject to the retail installment contract or the retail charge agreement, or for which other goods and services of like kind and quality, may be purchased for cash from the seller by the buyer, as stated in the retail installment contract or the retail charge agreement. See
- Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Goods: means all tangible personal chattels when purchased primarily for personal, family, or household use and not for commercial, industrial, or agricultural use, but not including money, motor vehicles, things in action, or intangible personal property other than merchandise certificates or coupons as described in this subdivision. See
- Holder: means the retail seller of the goods or services, or the assignee if the retail installment contract or the retail charge agreement or any indebtedness thereunder has been sold or otherwise transferred. See
- Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
- Retail charge agreement: means an agreement other than a retail installment contract that prescribed the terms of retail installment transactions that may be made thereafter from time to time under it, under which the buyer's total unpaid balance under the agreement, whenever incurred, is payable in one or more deferred installments and under the terms of which the retail buyer pays a price that includes a charge as limited by section 2406 of this title, which charge is to be computed in relation to the buyer's unpaid balance from time to time. See
- seller: means a person regularly and principally engaged in a business of selling goods to retail buyers. See
- Services: means :
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
§ 2406. Retail charge agreements
(a) Each retail charge agreement shall be in writing and signed by the buyer. A copy of any agreement executed on or after January 1, 1964 shall be delivered or mailed to the buyer by the seller before the date on which the first payment is due under the agreement. Any acknowledgment by the buyer of delivery of a copy of the agreement contained in the body thereof shall be in a size equal to at least 10-point boldface type and shall appear directly above the buyer’s signature. No agreement executed on or after January 1, 1964 shall be signed by the buyer when it contains blank spaces to be filled in after it has been signed. The buyer’s acknowledgment, conforming to the requirements of this subsection, of delivery of a copy of an agreement shall be presumptive proof in any action or proceeding of the delivery and that the agreement, when signed, did not contain any blank spaces. All retail charge agreements executed on or after January 1, 1964 shall state the maximum amount or rate of any charge referred to in subsection (c) of this section to be charged and paid under the agreement. Any such agreement shall contain the following notice printed or typed in a size equal to at least 10-point bold type, which shall appear directly above the space provided for the buyer’s signature:
“NOTICE TO THE BUYER—DO NOT SIGN THIS AGREEMENT IN BLANK. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT AT THE TIME YOU SIGN. KEEP IT TO PROTECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.”
(b)(1) The seller shall promptly supply the buyer under the retail charge agreement with a statement as of the end of each monthly period, which need not be a calendar month, or other regular period agreed upon in writing by the seller and buyer, in which there is any unpaid balance under the agreement, which statement shall recite the following:
(A) the unpaid balance under the retail charge agreement at the beginning and at the end of the period;
(B) unless otherwise furnished by the seller to the buyer by sales slip, memorandum, or otherwise, a description of the goods or services purchased during the period, the cash price, and the date of each purchase;
(C) the payments made by the buyer to the seller and other credits to the buyer during the period;
(D) the amount, if any, of any charge for the period made under subsection (c) of this section; and
(E) that the buyer may at any time pay the total balance or any part of the total balance.
(2) The items specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection need not be stated in the sequence or order set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection; additional items may be included, but only to explain the computations made in determining the amount to be paid by the buyer.
(c) A retail charge agreement may provide for, and the seller or holder may then, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, charge, collect, and receive, in addition to the cash price, a charge for the privilege of making deferred payments under the agreement, which charge shall not exceed the rates authorized by subdivision 41a(b)(9) of this title. If the amount of the finance charge otherwise permitted shall be less than 50 cents for any month or longer regular period, 50 cents may nevertheless be charged, received, and collected. In addition, a retail charge agreement may provide for the payment of reasonable attorney’s fees where it is referred for collection to an attorney who is not a salaried employee of the holder of the retail charge agreement or any indebtedness under the agreement and of court costs and disbursements and also of actual and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the collection. (Added 1963, No. 221, § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 1964; amended 1979, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. April 30, 1980; 1983, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2021, No. 20, § 15.)