H. B. 2803
(By Delegate Reynolds, Moore and Miley)
[Introduced February 25, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §46A-6C-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to credit service organizations;
and limiting fees to not more than twenty-five percent of
total debt owed by buyer.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §46A-6C-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6C. CREDIT SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS.
§46A-6C-7. Form and terms of contract.
(a) Each contract between the buyer and a credit services
organization for the purchase of the services of the credit
services organization must be in writing, dated, signed by the
buyer, and must include:
(1) A statement in type that is boldfaced, capitalized,
underlined, or otherwise set out from surrounding written materials so as to be conspicuous, in immediate proximity to the space
reserved for the signature of the buyer, as follows: "You, the
buyer, may cancel this contract at any time before midnight of the
third day after the date of the transaction. See the attached
notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this right";
(2) The terms and conditions of payment, including the total
of all payments to be made by the buyer, whether to the credit
services organization or to another person:
Provided, That
payments for services rendered by the credit services organization
may not exceed twenty-five percent of the total amount owed by the
buyer;
(3) A full and detailed description of the services to be
performed by the credit services organization for the buyer,
including all guarantees and all promises of full or partial
refunds, and the estimated length of time, not to exceed one
hundred eighty days, for performing the services; and
(4) The address of the credit services organization's
principal place of business and the name and address of its agent
in the state authorized to receive service or process.
(b) The contract must have attached two easily detachable
copies of a notice of cancellation. The notice must be in
boldfaced type and in the following form:
"Notice of Cancellation
You may cancel this contract, without any penalty or obligation, within three days after the date the contract is
signed.
If you cancel, any payment made by you under this contract
will be returned within ten days after the date of receipt by the
seller of your cancellation notice.
To cancel this contract, mail or deliver a signed dated copy
of this cancellation notice, or other written notice to:
(name of seller) at (address of seller) (place of business)
not later than midnight (date)
I hereby cancel this transaction.
(date)
(purchaser's signature)"
(c) The credit services organization shall give to the buyer
a copy of the completed contract and all other documents the credit
services organization requires the buyer to sign at the time they
are signed.
(d) The breach by a credit services organization of a
contract under this article, or of any obligation arising from
this article, is an unfair or deceptive act or practice.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit fees to not more
than twenty-five percent of total debt owed by buyer who contracts
with a credit service organization to improve credit record or
obtain extensions of credit.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.