Title 5 — Title 5

Charge. (a) Subject to the following subsections, every licensee under this chapter may charge and collect a maximum fee on any deferred presentment transaction not to exceed 17.5 percent of the amount advanced. The maximum amount that may be advanced in any deferred presentment …

(a) A licensee may not knowingly enter into a deferred presentment transaction with a customer that has outstanding deferred presentment transactions from any lender at any location that exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) for the term of the loan. (b) Before a licensee shall pre…

(a) If the supervisor determines that an applicant is not qualified to receive a license, the supervisor shall notify the applicant in writing that the application has been denied, stating the basis for denial. (b) If the supervisor denies an application or if the supervisor fail…

(a) The supervisor may, after notice and hearing, suspend or revoke any license if the supervisor finds that the licensee has knowingly or through lack of due care committed any of the following actions: (1) Failed to pay the annual license fee imposed by this chapter or an exami…

If, after a hearing, the supervisor finds that a person has violated this chapter or any administrative regulation issued pursuant to this chapter, the supervisor may take any one or more of the following enforcement actions: (1) Order the person to cease and desist violating the…

Circumstances. (a) The supervisor may enter into consent orders at any time with any person to resolve any matter arising under this chapter. A consent order shall be signed by the person to whom it is issued, or a duly authorized representative, and shall indicate agreement to t…

(a) Any person aggrieved by the conduct of a licensee under this chapter in connection with the regulated activities of the licensee may file a written complaint with the supervisor who may investigate the complaint. (b) In the course of the investigation of the complaint, the su…

Every licensee shall conspicuously post a sign, as designed by the department, notifying the public of the pertinent provisions of this chapter and any consequences related to entering into a deferred presentment transaction pursuant to this chapter. History: (Act 2003-359, p. 99…

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) CHECK. A debit authorization or a check signed by the maker and made payable to a person licensed under this chapter. (2) CONTINUOUS TRANSACTION. To extend a deferred presentment transaction with …

Any person who willfully makes charges in excess of those permitted by Section 5- 18A-12 or any person who willfully engages in the business of cashing deferred presentment checks in violation of Section 5-18A-3, or both, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor for the first offense a…

All license fees and administrative penalties collected under this chapter shall be paid into the special fund provided by Section 5-2A-20, and used in the supervision and examination of applicants and licensees. History: (Act 2003-359, p. 992, §21.)

The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to take away or negatively impact the customers’ claims in pending lawsuits against persons operating deferred presentment services on or before June 20, 2003. History: (Act 2003-359, p. 992, §22.)

(a) On or after January 1, 2004, no person shall engage in the business of deferred presentment services without having first obtained a license from the supervisor. A separate license shall be required for each location from which the business is conducted. (b) Trust companies, …

(a) Each applicant for a license shall satisfy all of the following requirements to qualify for a license: (1) Have a financial statement showing that the applicant has at least twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in unencumbered cash assets or its equivalent available for each loc…

Each application for a license shall be in writing and under oath to the supervisor, in a form prescribed by the supervisor, and shall include the legal name, residence, business address, and telephone number of the applicant. If the applicant is a partnership, association, or co…

Each application for a license shall be accompanied by all of the following: (1) A nonrefundable license fee of five hundred dollars ($500) for each location, office, or branch at which the applicant conducts business. The license fees are subject to increase by the supervisor th…

(a) Upon the filing of an application in the form prescribed by the supervisor, accompanied by the fee and documents required pursuant to Section 5-18A-6, the supervisor shall investigate to ascertain whether the qualifications prescribed by Section 5-18A-4 have been satisfied. I…

The prior written approval of the supervisor shall be required for the continued operation of a deferred presentment services business whenever a change in control of a license is proposed. Control in the case of a corporation shall mean direct or indirect ownership, or the right…

Within 15 days of the occurrence of any one of the following events, a licensee shall file a written report with the supervisor describing the event and its expected impact on the activities of the licensee in this state: (1) The filing for bankruptcy or reorganization by the lic…

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) FINANCE CHARGE. The sum of all charges, payable directly or indirectly by the person to whom credit is extended, and imposed directly or indi…

The Legislature finds as fact and determines that: (1) The Alabama Consumer Credit Act, Title 5, Chapter 19, (commonly referred to as the “Mini-Code”), was enacted by the Legislature by Acts 1971, No. 2052, page 3290. All, or a portion, of the provisions of the Mini-Code apply to…

A contract for a consumer credit transaction with an original amount financed not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) may not provide for payment by the debtor of attorney’s fees after default by the debtor. A contract for a consumer credit transaction with an original amount …

(a) A buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day following execution by the buyer of an agreement or offer to purchase, which notice is effective when delivered or when deposited in the mail properly addressed to the seller, po…

Thousand Dollars or Less. If any seller or assignee of the seller repossesses or voluntarily accepts surrender of goods sold in which the seller or assignee has a security interest and the original cash price of the goods repossessed or surrendered was one thousand dollars ($$1,0…

Prohibited. With respect to a consumer credit sale, the seller may not give or offer to give a rebate or discount, or otherwise pay or offer to pay value to the buyer, as an inducement for a sale in consideration of the buyer giving to the seller the names of prospective purchase…

Prior to entry of judgment on a consumer credit transaction, the creditor may not attach unpaid earnings of the debtor by garnishment. Notwithstanding the garnishment procedure otherwise applicable after judgment, with respect to a consumer credit transaction, the amount of unpai…

With respect to a consumer credit transaction, if the court as a matter of law finds the contract or any provision of the contract to have been unconscionable at the time it was made, the court may refuse to enforce the contract, or it may enforce the remainder of the contract wi…

Higher Finance Charge Prohibited; Consolidation of Existing Precomputed Consumer Credit Transaction Contract and Subsequent Precomputed Consumer Credit Transaction. (a) No creditor shall induce or permit any person or any husband and wife, jointly or severally, to become obligate…

With respect to consumer credit transactions, where the debt is payable in installments, not made pursuant to an open-end credit plan and in which the original amount financed is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less, the debt shall be scheduled to be payable in substantially equ…

License; Damages for Deliberate Violation or Reckless Disregard; Written Notice of Violations; Oral Statements Not Admissible; Fiduciary Duty Not Created. (a)(1)(i) Any creditor charging a finance charge in excess of the amount authorized herein, except as specified in subdivisio…

(a) With respect to any consumer credit transaction, the creditor shall not require any insurance other than insurance against loss of or damage to any property in which the creditor is given a security interest and insurance insuring the lien of the creditor on the property whic…

of Intended Action with Legislative Reference Service; Transactions Entered into After May 20, 1996. (a) The administrator is authorized and empowered to promulgate rules and regulations and official interpretations (collectively “regulations”) as may be necessary or appropriate …

Assignments of Consumer Credit Contracts - Required; Exceptions; Application; Investigation; Standards for Issuance; Hearing; Licensing Under Small Loan Act; Fees; Participation in Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. (a) No creditor shall engage in any one or more …

Assignments of Consumer Credit Contracts - Revocation or Suspension. (a) The administrator may issue to a person licensed under this chapter an order to show cause why his license should not be revoked or suspended for a period not in excess of six months. The order shall state t…

(a) For the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter, the administrator may, at any reasonable time, cause an examination to be made at the licensee’s place of business of the records and transactions of such licensee. As cost of examination, the licensee shall pay the…

This Chapter; Right to Counsel at Hearing; Judicial Review. After notice and hearing, the administrator may order a licensee under this chapter or a person acting on behalf of the licensee to cease and desist from engaging in violations of this chapter. A creditor who is found by…

Decision of Circuit Court. (a) Any interested party or intervener may appeal an order of the administrator to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County or to the circuit court of the county in which such party has its principal place of business in Alabama by filing notice of appeal…

(a) The administrator may bring an action to restrain a creditor or a person acting in his behalf from engaging in any business subject to licensing under subsection (a) of Section 5-19-22 without first obtaining a license therefor as provided in Section 5-19-22 and a licensee or…

Alternate Per Month Computed Finance Charge. (a) Except under open-end credit plans, the maximum finance charge for any credit transaction where the original amount financed is less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), may equal but may not exceed the total of the following: (1) F…

A creditor who willfully makes charges in excess of those permitted by Section 5- 19-3 or a creditor who willfully engages in the business of making loans in violation of subsection (a) of Section 5-19-22, or both, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be sentenc…

Repealed or Amended. (a) The provisions of this chapter, except the provisions of subdivision (1) of Section 5-19-1 and Section 5-19-3, shall not apply (i) to any consumer credit transaction or other transaction involving an interest in real property or the sale, lease, or mortga…

Any creditor who extends credit with respect to a consumer credit sale, may sell or finance, or both, a service contract covering tangible goods which are the subject of the consumer credit sale. Any other person who was not the creditor with regard to the initial sale of the tan…

(a) In addition to other lawful charges permitted under various state or federal laws, except under open-end credit plans, a creditor may, if provided in the contract, charge an account maintenance fee of not more than three dollars ($3) for each month of the scheduled period of …

Refinancing; Real Property Transactions. (a) When a scheduled payment in a consumer credit transaction is in default 10 days or more, the creditor may charge and collect a late charge not exceeding the greater of eighteen dollars ($18) or five percent of the amount of the schedul…

In a consumer credit sale, the seller may not take as evidence of the obligation of the buyer, a negotiable instrument other than (1) a check; or (2) a promise or order containing a statement, required by applicable statutory or administrative law, to the effect that the rights o…

Required Statement in Contracts, Etc.; Limitation on Disclosure Requirements; Intent, Applicability of Limitation. (a) Any creditor, when extending credit with respect to a consumer credit transaction, other than under an open-end credit plan, shall at that time furnish to the de…

With respect to a consumer credit transaction, if any scheduled payment is more than one and one-half times as large as the average of earlier scheduled payments, the debtor has the right to refinance the amount of that payment at the time it is due without penalty. The terms of …

With respect to a consumer credit sale, an assignee of the rights of the seller is subject to all claims and defenses of the buyer against the seller arising out of the sale, notwithstanding an agreement to the contrary, but the assignee’s liability under this section may not exc…

or More Consumer Credit Sales. When the buyer is indebted to a particular seller for two or more consumer credit sales of goods and the goods which were the subject of two or more sales secure the buyer’s total debt to the seller, the security shall be discharged by applying the …

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Alabama Pawnshop Act.” History: (Acts 1992, No. 92-597, p. 1227, §1.)