Title 40 — Title 40 — Trade And Commerce

Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Wyoming Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act."

(a) Definitions. As used in this act: (i) commissioner; "Commissioner" means the state banking (ii) "Advertisement" means a commercial message in any medium that solicits a consumer to enter a rental-purchase agreement; (iii) "Business day" means any day other than Sunday or a le…

Notices. Notices required by this act shall be given personally or sent by first class or registered mail to the known residential address of the consumer. Notice, if sent by mail, is given when deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and postage prepaid. Notice may also be giv…

Application. (a) This act applies to rental-purchase agreements and acts, practices or conduct related to a rental-purchase agreement entered into in this state. (b) For the purposes of this act, the residence of the consumer is the address given by the consumer as the consumer's…

transactions. Inapplicability of other laws; exempt (a) Rental-purchase agreements as defined in this act are not governed by laws relating to: (i) Transactions governed under the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code; or (ii) "Security interests" as defined by W.S. 34.1-1-201(a)(…

agreements. General requirements of rental-purchase (a) Each rental-purchase agreement shall be in writing, dated, signed by the consumer and merchant and completed as to all essential provisions as required by this act. (b) The agreement shall be made clearly and conspicuously w…

Disclosures. (a) For each rental-purchase agreement, the merchant shall disclose in the agreement the following items as applicable: (i) Whether the periodic payment is weekly, monthly or otherwise, the dollar amount of each payment and the total number and total dollar amount of…

(a) Prohibited provisions. A rental-purchase agreement shall not contain a: (i) Confession of judgment; (ii) Negotiable instrument; (iii) Security interest or any other claim of a property interest in any property of the consumer; (iv) Wage assignment; (v) Waiver by the consumer …

Default; notice of default and right to cure. (a) In any rental-purchase agreement, after a consumer is in default for three (3) business days or more and does not voluntarily surrender possession of the rented property, a merchant may give the consumer the notice provided in thi…

Reinstatement. (a) Any consumer whose default consists solely of a failure to make a timely rental payment may reinstate the agreement, without losing any rights or options which exist under the agreement, by paying the following charges within seven (7) days of the renewal date …

Liability damage waivers; fees. (a) A consumer and merchant may contract for a liability damage waiver in physical or digital format. The selling or offering for sale of a liability damage waiver pursuant to this act shall be subject to the following prohibitions and requirements…

Renegotiations and extensions. (a) A renegotiation occurs when any term of a rental-purchase agreement that is required to be disclosed by W.S. 40-19-107 is changed by agreement between the merchant and consumer. A renegotiation is considered to be a new rental-purchase agreement…

Advertising. (a) An advertisement for a rental-purchase agreement that refers to or states the dollar amount of a periodic payment and the right to acquire ownership of a specific item shall also clearly and conspicuously state the following: (i) agreement; The transaction advert…

qualifications. License required; application for license; fee; (a) Any person acting as a merchant, as defined by W.S. 40-19-102(a)(viii), in this state shall be licensed with a single statewide license to conduct such business under this section. (b) The commissioner shall rece…

Revocation or suspension of license. (a) The commissioner may issue to a person licensed under this act an order to show cause why his license should not be revoked or suspended for a period not in excess of six (6) months. The order shall state the place for a hearing and set a …

Record retention. Every licensee shall maintain records in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and practices in a manner which will enable the commissioner to determine whether the licensee is complying with the provisions of this act. The record keeping syst…

Examination and investigation. (a) Upon complaint the commissioner may examine and copy the records of a licensee. The investigation may be made for the purposes of discovering violations of this act or securing information lawfully required. For these purposes he shall have free…

Powers and functions of the commissioner; enforcement; penalties. (a) Except as otherwise provided, the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, W.S. 16-3-101 through 16-3-115, shall apply to and govern all administrative actions taken by the commissioner pursuant to this act. (b) T…

Consumer civil actions. (a) A merchant who fails to comply with a requirement imposed in W.S. 40-19-106 through 40-19-112 or 40-12-104 shall be liable to the consumer damaged thereby in an amount equal to the greater of: (i) The actual damages sustained by the consumer as a resul…

Merchant's defense. (a) If a merchant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of this act was unintentional, no penalty as specified in W.S. 40-19-118 shall be imposed and validity of the transaction shall not be affected. (b) A merchant shall not be liabl…