Title 37, Consumer Protection Code

"Loan" includes: (1) the creation of debt by the lender's payment of or agreement to pay money to the debtor or to a third party for the account of the debtor; (2) the creation of debt by a credit to an account with the lender upon which the debtor is entitled to draw immediately…

(1) Except as otherwise provided "lender" includes an assignee of the lender's right to payment but use of the term does not in itself impose on an assignee any obligation of the lender with respect to events occurring before the assignment. (2) A loan, refinancing, or consolidat…

"Revolving loan account" means an arrangement between a lender and a debtor pursuant to which: (1) the lender may permit the debtor to obtain loans from time to time; (2) the unpaid balances of principal and the loan finance and other appropriate charges are debited to an account…

(1) "Loan finance charge" means the sum of: (a) all charges payable directly or indirectly by the debtor and imposed directly or indirectly by the lender as an incident to the extension of credit, including any of the following types of charges which are applicable: interest or a…

This part does not apply to restricted loans or restricted lenders.

(1) With respect to a consumer loan, including a loan pursuant to open-end credit, a lender who is not a supervised lender may contract for and receive a finance charge, calculated according to the actuarial method, not exceeding twelve percent per year. With respect to a consume…

(1) In addition to the loan finance charge permitted by this chapter a lender may contract for and receive the following additional charges in connection with a consumer loan: (a) official fees and taxes; (b) charges for insurance as described in subsection (2); (c) with respect …

(1) With respect to a consumer loan including an open-end consumer loan pursuant to a lender credit card or similar arrangement, and any refinancings or consolidations of all such consumer loans, the parties may contract for a delinquency charge on any installment not paid in ful…

(1) In this section and in the provisions on rebate upon prepayment (Section 37-3-210) the following defined terms apply with respect to a precomputed consumer loan: (a) "Computational period" means (i) the interval between scheduled due dates of installments under the transactio…

With respect to a consumer loan, refinancing, or consolidation, the lender may by agreement with the debtor refinance the unpaid balance and may contract for and receive a loan finance charge based on the principal resulting from the refinancing at a rate not exceeding that permi…

(1) If a debtor owes an unpaid balance to a lender with respect to a consumer loan, refinancing, or consolidation, and becomes obligated on another consumer loan, refinancing, or consolidation with the same lender, the parties may agree to a consolidation resulting in a single sc…

The parties may agree to add to a revolving loan account the unpaid balance of a consumer loan, not made pursuant to revolving loan account, or a refinancing, or consolidation thereof, or the unpaid balance of a consumer credit sale, refinancing or consolidation. For the purpose …

(1) If the agreement with respect to a consumer loan, refinancing, or consolidation contains covenants by the debtor to perform certain duties pertaining to insuring or preserving collateral and if the lender pursuant to the agreement pays for performance of the duties on behalf …

Subject to the provisions on rebate upon prepayment (Section 37-3-210), the debtor may prepay in full the unpaid balance of a consumer loan, refinancing, or consolidation at any time without penalty.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon prepayment in full of a precomputed consumer loan entered into after September 28, 1976, the creditor shall rebate to the debtor an amount not less than the unearned portion of the loan finance charge computed according to th…

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.

(1) The creditor shall deliver or mail to the debtor, without request, a written receipt for each payment by coin or currency on an obligation pursuant to a consumer loan. A periodic statement showing a payment received by mail complies with this subsection. (2) Upon written requ…

(1) A natural person, other than the spouse of the debtor, is not obligated as a cosigner, comaker, guarantor, indorser, surety, or similar party with respect to a consumer loan, unless before or contemporaneously with signing any separate agreement of obligation or any writing s…

(1) A lender 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 …

(1) Every creditor (Section 37-1-301(13)), other than an assignee of a credit obligation, making supervised or restricted consumer loans (Section 37-3-104) in this State shall on or before the effective date of this section, and in case of a creditor not making supervised consume…

(1) Every creditor engaged in this State in making consumer loans pursuant to a lender credit card or similar arrangement shall: (a) file on or before January thirty-first of each year with the Department of Consumer Affairs for every lender card plan it offers to South Carolina …

(A) An estimate of the disclosures required by Section 37-3-301 is required in connection with a loan for the purchase, refinance, or consolidation of a loan secured by a borrower-occupied manufactured home not less than two days before the consummation of the transaction as defi…

This part applies to consumer loans.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), if any scheduled payment of a consumer loan 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…

(1) A lender may not take an assignment of earnings of the debtor for payment or as security for payment of a debt arising out of a consumer loan. An assignment of earnings in violation of this section is unenforceable by the assignee of the earnings and revocable by the debtor. …

(1) Except as provided by the provisions on limitations on attorney's fees as to certain supervised loans (Section 37-3-514), with respect to a consumer loan the agreement may provide for the payment by the debtor of reasonable attorney's fees not in excess of fifteen percent of …

Except for reasonable expenses incurred in realizing on a security interest, the agreement with respect to a consumer loan may not provide for charges as a result of default by the debtor other than those authorized by this title. A provision in violation of this section is unenf…

The debtor is authorized to pay the original lender until he receives notification of assignment of rights to payment pursuant to a consumer loan and that payment is to be made to the assignee. A notification which does not reasonably identify the rights assigned is ineffective. …

A debtor may not authorize any person to confess judgment on a claim arising out of a consumer loan. An authorization in violation of this section is void.

(1) Whether or not a change is authorized by prior agreement, a creditor may change the terms of a revolving loan account applying to any balance incurred before or after the effective date of the change. If the change increases the rate of the loan finance charge or of additiona…

A lender may not use multiple agreements with intent to avoid disclosure of an annual percentage rate pursuant to the provisions on disclosure and advertising (Part 3). The excess amount of loan finance charge provided for in agreements in violation of this section is an excess c…

(1) A lender, except the issuer of a lender credit card, who with respect to a particular transaction, makes a consumer loan to enable a debtor to buy or lease from a particular seller or lessor property or services is subject to all claims and defenses of the debtor against the …

(1) This section neither limits the liability of nor imposes liability on a card issuer as a manufacturer, supplier, seller, or lessor of property or services sold or leased pursuant to the credit card. This section may subject a card issuer to claims and defenses of a cardholder…

With respect to a consumer loan which is secured in whole or in part by a lien on real estate under which the aggregate of all sums advanced or contemplated by the parties in good faith to be advanced will not exceed one hundred thousand dollars, the rate of the loan finance char…

(1) A "short-term vehicle secured loan" means a nonpurchase money consumer loan with an original repayment term of less than one hundred and twenty days and secured by a motor vehicle. It does not include a loan made by a supervised financial organization. (2) A short-term vehicl…

Except as provided in Section 37-3-512, this Part shall not apply to restricted loans or restricted lenders.

(1) "Supervised loan" means a consumer loan in which the rate of the loan finance charge exceeds twelve percent per year as determined according to the provisions on the loan finance charge for consumer loans (Section 37-3-201). A supervised loan does not include: (a) a mortgage …

Unless a person is a supervised financial organization or has first obtained a license from the State Board of Financial Institutions authorizing him to make supervised loans, he shall not engage in the business of (1) making supervised loans; or (2) taking assignments of and und…

(1) The State Board of Financial Institutions shall receive and act on all applications for licenses to make supervised loans under this title. Applications shall be filed in the manner prescribed by the Board and shall contain the information the Board requires by rule to make a…

(1) The State Board of Financial Institutions may issue to a person licensed to make supervised loans an order to show cause why his license should not be revoked or suspended for a period not in excess of 6 months. The order shall state the place for a hearing and set a time for…

(1) Every licensee shall maintain records in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and practices in a manner that will enable the State Board of Financial Institutions to determine whether the licensee is complying with the provisions of this title. The recordk…

(1) The State Board of Financial Institutions shall examine periodically at intervals it deems appropriate the loans, business and records of every licensee. In addition, for the purpose of discovering violations of this title or securing information lawfully required, the Agency…

Except as otherwise provided, the part on Administrative Procedure and Judicial Review [Part 4, Chapter 6] applies to and governs all administrative action taken pursuant to this part.

With respect to a supervised loan, no lender may use multiple agreements with respect to a single consumer loan transaction with intent to obtain a higher rate of loan finance charge than would otherwise be permitted by the provisions on loan finance charges for supervised loans …

(1) With respect to a supervised loan in which the principal is one thousand dollars or less, a lender may not contract for an interest in land as security. A security interest taken in violation of this section is void. (2) An open-end credit agreement under which the credit lim…