The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 9: Commerce and Trade

Chapter 105: Credit Cards

• § 4041. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Person” includes a natural person, a firm, an association, and a corporation, and any officer, employee, or agent thereof.

  (2) “Cardholder” means any person to whom a credit card is issued and any person who has agreed with the card issuer to pay obligations arising from the issuance of a credit card to another person.

  (3) “Card issuer” means any person who issues a credit card.

  (4) “Credit card” means any instrument, whether known as credit card, credit plate, charge plate, or any other name, that purports to evidence an undertaking to pay for property, labor, services, or delinquent taxes paid, delivered, or rendered to or upon the order of persons designated or otherwise authorized as bearers of such card, and includes bank credit cards as defined in 8 V.S.A.§ 1301(b).

  (5) “Accepted credit card” means any credit card that the cardholder has signed or has used, or authorized another to use, for the purpose of obtaining money, property, labor, services, or payment of delinquent taxes on credit, and also the term includes a credit card issued in replacement or renewal of an accepted credit card.

  (6) “Unauthorized use” means a use of a credit card to obtain money, property, labor, services, or payment of delinquent taxes by a person other than the cardholder who does not have actual, implied, or apparent authority for such use.

  (7) “Notice of loss instructions” shall be a separate slip or card, or a provision clearly printed in bold type in a cardholder agreement or accompanying material that shall apprise cardholder of the potential liability for unauthorized use, shall designate the address and telephone number of an office or offices of issuer to which adequate notice of loss may be given, and that shall contain a blank space for the cardholder to insert his or her account number, which space shall be identified to invite such insertion.

  (8) “Adequate notice of loss” shall be an actual notice of loss or theft or of unauthorized use of the card to a designated office of issuer that may be by mail, telephone, telegraph, or in person. (Added 1969, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 278 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 21, 1988; 2021, No. 20, § 35.)

• § 4042. Liability for unauthorized use

  A provision imposing liability on a cardholder for the unauthorized use of a credit card shall be effective only if the card is an accepted credit card, the liability imposed is not in excess of $100.00, the cardholder has received notice of loss instructions from issuer, and the unauthorized use occurs before the cardholder has given adequate notice of loss to issuer. (Added 1969, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)

• § 4043. Fraudulent use

  A person shall not with intent to defraud, obtain, or attempt to obtain money, property, services, or any other thing of value, by the use of a credit card that he or she knows, or reasonably shall have known, to have been stolen, forged, revoked, cancelled, unauthorized, or invalid for use by him or her for such purpose. (Added 1969, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)

• § 4044. Penalty

  (a) A person who violates section 4043 of this title shall be fined not more than $500.00 or be imprisoned not more than six months, or both, if the aggregate value of the money, property, services, or other things of value so obtained is $50.00 or less.

  (b) A person who violates section 4043 of this title shall be fined not more than $1,000.00 or be imprisoned not more than one year, or both, if the aggregate value of the money, property, services, or other things of value so obtained exceeds $50.00. (Added 1969, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 17.)

• § 4045. Illegal possession; seizure

  (a) A person in possession of a credit card issued to another with the intent to use the credit card without the consent of the cardholder shall be fined not more than $500.00 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

  (b) A law enforcement officer who finds a credit card in the possession of a person other than the cardholder shall seize the same unless it is affirmatively made to appear that an unauthorized use of said card is not intended. A card seized under such circumstances shall be returned to the card issuer at such time as it may not be needed as material or relevant evidence for prosecution. (Added 1969, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)