Title 37, Consumer Protection Code

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), (a) In the case of consumer credit insurance providing life coverage, the amount of insurance may not initially exceed the debt and, if the debt is payable in installments, may not at any time exceed the greater of the scheduled or actual…

(1) A creditor may not use a form or a schedule of premium rates or charges, the filing of which is required by this section, if the Director of the Department of Insurance has disapproved the form or schedule and has notified the insurer of his disapproval. A creditor may not us…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, credit life, property, and accident and health insurance premiums charged by supervised lenders under the Consumer Protection Code or by restricted lenders under the consumer finance law are each subject to a minimum charge and a minimu…

No person may act or attempt in a consumer credit transaction to prevent the filing or receiving of payment on a legitimate insurance claim. In an action in which it is found that a person has violated this section, the court shall award to the consumer the actual damages and con…

Notwithstanding the requirements of Sections 37-2-202(2), 37-3-202(2), 37-4-110(1)(e), and 37-4-201(3)(b) required disclosures must be given and acknowledged, but need not be signed by the debtor, in a transaction that meets all of the following requirements: (a) the plan is an o…

A policy or certificate may not be declared void and the insurer may not avoid liability based upon a misrepresentation made by the insured, with respect to information provided regarding medical conditions or health history required in furnishing evidence of insurability, that i…

The amount charged for nonfiling insurance coverage may not exceed seventy-five percent of the official fee as defined in Section 37-1-301(17).

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the creditor from combining disclosures required in this chapter with other disclosures required under state and federal law, in order to avoid redundancy.

Disability shall not be defined more restrictively than the inability of the insured to engage in his own occupation during the first year of disability or for the length of the benefit period if less than one year. After the first year of disability, disability shall not be defi…

(1) A creditor may not contract for or receive a separate charge for insurance against loss of or damage to property unless: (a) the insurance covers a substantial risk of loss or damage to property, all or part of which is related to the credit transaction; (b) the amount, terms…

If a creditor contracts for or receives a separate charge for insurance against loss of or damage to property, the risk of loss or damage not wilfully caused by the debtor is on the debtor only to the extent of any deficiency in the effective coverage of the insurance, even thoug…

A creditor may not contract for or receive a separate charge for insurance against liability unless the insurance covers a substantial risk of liability rising out of the ownership or use of property related to the credit transaction.

A creditor shall not request cancellation of a policy of property or liability insurance except after the debtor's default or in accordance with a written authorization by the debtor, and in either case the cancellation does not take effect until written notice is delivered to th…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as South Carolina Consumer Protection Code - Remedies and Penalties.

This part applies to actions or other proceedings to enforce rights arising from consumer credit sales, consumer leases, consumer loans, and consumer rental-purchase agreements; and, in addition, to extortionate extensions of credit (Section 37-5-107) and other transactions gover…

(1) This section applies to a deficiency on a consumer credit sale of goods or services and on a consumer loan in which the lender is subject to claims and defenses arising from sales and leases (Section 37-3-410). A consumer is not liable for a deficiency unless the creditor has…

With respect to a debt arising from a consumer credit sale, a consumer lease, a consumer loan, or a consumer rental-purchase agreement, regardless of where made, the creditor may not attach unpaid earnings of the debtor by garnishment or like proceedings.

No employer shall discharge an employee for the reason that a creditor of the employee has subjected or attempted to subject unpaid earnings of the employee to garnishment or like proceedings directed to the employer for the purpose of paying a judgment arising from a consumer cr…

(1) If it is the understanding of the creditor and the debtor at the time an extension of credit is made that delay in making repayment or failure to make repayment could result in the use of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to the person, reputation, or property of…

(1) With respect to a transaction that is, gives rise to, or leads the debtor to believe will give rise to, a consumer credit transaction, if the court as a matter of law finds: (a) the agreement or transaction to have been unconscionable at the time it was made, or to have been …

An agreement of the parties to a consumer credit transaction with respect to default on the part of the consumer is enforceable only to the extent that: (1) the consumer fails to make a payment as required by agreement; provided, with respect to a consumer rental-purchase agreeme…

(1) With respect to a secured or unsecured consumer credit transaction payable in two or more installments, after a consumer has been in default for ten days for failure to make a required payment and has not voluntarily surrendered possession of goods that are collateral, a cred…

(1) With respect to a secured or unsecured consumer credit transaction payable in two or more installments, except as provided in subsection (2), after a default consisting only of the consumer's failure to make a required payment, a creditor, because of that default, may neither…

Upon default by a consumer with respect to a consumer credit transaction, unless the consumer voluntarily surrenders possession of the collateral or rented property to the creditor, the creditor may take possession of the collateral or rented property without judicial process onl…

An action by a creditor against a consumer arising from a consumer credit transaction shall be brought in the county of the consumer's residence [Section 37-1-201(6)], unless an action is brought to enforce an interest in land securing the consumer's obligation, in which case the…

(1) In an action brought by a creditor against a consumer arising from a consumer credit transaction, the complaint shall allege the facts of the consumer's default, the amount to which the creditor is entitled, an indication of how that amount was determined, and either that the…

Except as otherwise set forth in this section, at any time after entry of a default judgment in favor of a creditor and against a consumer in an action arising from a consumer credit transaction, the court which rendered judgment, for cause including lack of jurisdiction to rende…

A provider of health care services must give twenty days prior notice before submitting a debt to a credit bureau or credit reporting agency or filing a lien against real or personal property, and the debtor must be notified by mail of the creditor's intention. Failure to comply …

(1) If a creditor has violated any provisions of this title applying to receipts, statements of account, and evidences of payment (Sections 37-2-302 and 37-3-302), notice to cosigners and similar parties (Sections 37-2-302 and 37-3-303), schedule of maximum loan finance charges t…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a creditor who, in violation of the provisions of the Federal Truth in Lending Act or Section 37-2-309 or 37-3-308, fails to disclose information to a person entitled to the information pursuant to this title is liable to that per…

Refunds or penalties to which the debtor is entitled pursuant to this part may be set off against the debtor's obligation, and may be raised as a defense to a suit on the obligation without regard to the time limitations prescribed by this subdivision.

(1) A lender who wilfully makes charges in excess of those permitted by applicable law is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction may be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. (2) A person, other than a…

A person is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction may be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, if he wilfully and knowingly (1) gives false or inaccurate information or fails to provide information w…

(1) For the purposes of this section: (a) "credit card" means a seller credit card or a lender credit card or similar arrangement as defined in this title; and (b) "debit card" means a card or device issued by a supervised financial organization pursuant to an arrangement whereby…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as South Carolina Consumer Protection Code - Administration.

This part applies to persons in this State who: (1) make or solicit consumer credit sales, consumer leases, consumer loans, and consumer rental-purchase agreements; (2) directly collect payments from or enforce rights against debtors arising from sales, leases, loans, or agreemen…

"Administrator" means the officer appointed by the Commission on Consumer Affairs to administer this title (part 5 of this chapter).

(1) In addition to other powers granted by this title, the administrator within the limitations provided by law, may: (a) receive and act on complaints, take action designed to obtain voluntary compliance with this title, or commence proceedings on his own initiative; (b) counsel…

(1) With respect to supervised financial organizations, the powers of examination and investigation (Sections 37-3-506, 37-6-106 and 37-6-118) and administrative enforcement (Section 37-6-108) shall be exercised by the official or agency to whose supervision the organization is s…

(1) If the administrator has probable cause to believe that a person has engaged in an act which is subject to action by the administrator, he may make an investigation to determine if the act has been committed, and, to the extent necessary for this purpose, may administer oaths…

Except as otherwise provided, the Administrative Procedures Act applies to and governs all administrative action taken pursuant to this chapter or the Part on Supervised Loans (Part 5) of the chapter on Loans (Chapter 3).

(A) After notice, the administrator may order a creditor, a person acting on his behalf, or a person subject to this title to cease and desist from engaging in violations of this title. A respondent aggrieved by an order of the administrator may request a contested case before th…

If it is claimed that a person has engaged in conduct subject to an order by the administrator (Section 37-6-108) or by a court (Sections 37-6-110 through 37-6-112), the administrator may accept an assurance in writing that the person will not engage in the conduct in the future.…

The administrator may bring a civil action to restrain any person from violating this title and for other appropriate relief including, but not limited to, the following: to prevent a person from using or employing practices prohibited by this title, to reform contracts to confor…

(1) The administrator may bring a civil action to restrain a person to whom this title applies from engaging in a course of: (a) making or enforcing unconscionable terms or provisions of consumer credit transactions; (b) fraudulent or unconscionable conduct in inducing consumers …

With respect to an action brought to enjoin violations of the title (Section 37-6-110) or unconscionable agreements or fraudulent or unconscionable conduct (Section 37-6-111), the administrator may apply to the court for appropriate temporary relief against a respondent, pending …