§ 59-1509 — Disclosure and advertising.

A. General Disclosure Requirements. 1. All disclosures required by this act shall be made in accordance with the regulations of the Administrator and, in addition, such disclosures as applicable: a. shall be made clearly and conspicuously; b. shall be in writing, a copy of which shall be delivered to the customer; c. may be supplemented by additional information or explanations supplied by the pawnbroker; d. need be made only to the extent applicable and only as to those items for which the pawnbroker makes a separate charge to the customer; and e. shall comply with this section although rendered inaccurate by any act, occurrence or agreement subsequent to the required disclosure. 2. The disclosures required by this section shall be made before credit is extended, but may be made in the pawn transaction, refinancing or consolidation agreement, or other evidence of the pawn transaction agreement to be signed by the customer if set forth conspicuously therein, and need be made only to one customer if there is more than one. 3. If any evidence of the pawn transaction agreement is signed by the customer, the pawnbroker shall give him a copy when the writing is signed. 4. Except as provided with respect to civil liability for violations of disclosure provisions, written acknowledgment of receipt by a customer to whom a statement is required to be given pursuant to this section: a. in an action or proceeding by or against the original pawnbroker, creates a presumption that the statement was given; and b. in an action or proceeding by or against an assignee without knowledge to the contrary when he acquires the obligation, is conclusive proof of the delivery of the statement and, unless the violation is apparent on the face of the statement, of compliance with this act. 5. Where the terms "finance charge" and "annual percentage rate" are required to be used, they shall be printed more conspicuously than other terminology required by this act. All numerical amounts and percentages shall be stated in figures and shall be printed in not less than the equivalent of ten point type, .075-inch computer type, or elite size typewritten numerals, or shall be legibly handwritten. B. Calculation of Rate to be Disclosed. 1. If a pawnbroker is required to give to a customer a statement of the rate of the pawn finance charge, he shall state the rate in terms of an annual percentage rate calculated according to the actuarial method designated as "annual percentage rate" with respect to a pawn transaction, which is the quotient expressed as a percentage of the total pawn finance charge for the period to which it relates divided by the amount financed, multiplied by the number of these periods in a year. 2. A statement of rate complies with this act if it does not vary from the accurately computed rate by more than one quarter of one percent (1/4 of 1%) for a pawn transaction. C. Overstatement. The disclosure of an amount or percentage which is greater than the amount or percentage required to be disclosed under this act does not in itself constitute a violation of this act if the overstatement is not materially misleading and is not used to avoid meaningful disclosure. D. Specific Disclosure Provisions. 1. The pawnbroker shall give the customer the following information: a. the name and address of the pawnbroker; b. the name and address of the customer and the customer's description or the distinctive number from customer's driver's license or military identification; c. the date of the transaction; d. the net amount paid to, receivable by, or paid or payable for the account of the customer, designated as "amount financed"; e. the amount of the pawn finance charge, designated as "finance charge"; f. the rate of the pawn finance charge as applied to the amount financed, in accordance with the provisions on calculation of rate in Section 9, subsection B, of this act designated as "annual percentage rate"; g. the total amount which must be paid to redeem the pledged goods on the maturity date, designated as the "total of payments"; h. an identification of the property to which any security interest held or to be retained or acquired relates, and shall include serial numbers if reasonably available; i. the maturity date of the pawn transaction; and j. a statement to the effect that the customer is not obligated to redeem the pledged goods, and that the pledged goods may be forfeited to the pawnbroker thirty (30) days after the specified maturity date, provided that the pledged goods may be redeemed by the customer within thirty (30) days following the maturity date of the pawn transaction by payment of the originally agreed redemption price and the payment of an additional pawn finance charge equal to one-thirtieth (1/30) of the original monthly pawn finance charge for each day following the original maturity date including the day on which the pledged goods are finally redeemed. E. Consolidation. If the parties to a pawn transaction or consumer credit sale agree to a consolidation, the pawnbroker shall give to the customer the information required with respect to pawn transaction provisions. That portion of the pawn finance charge earned at the time of consolidation shall be no greater than one- thirtieth (1/30) of the pawn finance charge for each elapsed day from the date of the transaction. The amount with respect to the previous transaction or sale to be consolidated shall be separately stated and shall be added to the net amount paid to, receivable by, or paid or payable for the account of the customer in connection with the subsequent transaction. F. Advertising. 1. No pawnbroker shall engage in this state in false or misleading advertising concerning the terms or conditions of credit with respect to a pawn transaction. 2. Without limiting the generality of subsection 1 of this section an advertisement with respect to a pawn transaction made by the posting of a public sign, or by catalog, magazine, newspaper, radio, television or similar mass media, is misleading if: a. it states the rate of the pawn finance charge and the rate is not stated in the form required by the provisions on calculation of rate to be disclosed; or b. it states the dollar amounts of the pawn finance charge and does not also state the rate of any pawn finance charge. 3. In this section a catalog or other multiple-page advertisement is considered a single advertisement if it clearly and conspicuously displays a credit terms table setting forth the information required by this section. 4. This section imposes no liability on the owner or personnel, as such, of any medium in which an advertisement appears or through which it is disseminated. 5. Advertising which complies with the Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act does not violate subsection 2 of this section.

Legislative History

Laws 1972, c. 255, § 9.