The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 9 : Commerce and Trade

Chapter 061 : Retail Installment Sales

• § 2406. Retail charge agreements

  (a) Each retail charge agreement shall be in writing and signed by the buyer. A copy of any agreement executed on or after January 1, 1964 shall be delivered or mailed to the buyer by the seller before the date on which the first payment is due under the agreement. Any acknowledgment by the buyer of delivery of a copy of the agreement contained in the body thereof shall be in a size equal to at least 10-point boldface type and shall appear directly above the buyer’s signature. No agreement executed on or after January 1, 1964 shall be signed by the buyer when it contains blank spaces to be filled in after it has been signed. The buyer’s acknowledgment, conforming to the requirements of this subsection, of delivery of a copy of an agreement shall be presumptive proof in any action or proceeding of the delivery and that the agreement, when signed, did not contain any blank spaces. All retail charge agreements executed on or after January 1, 1964 shall state the maximum amount or rate of any charge referred to in subsection (c) of this section to be charged and paid under the agreement. Any such agreement shall contain the following notice printed or typed in a size equal to at least 10-point bold type, which shall appear directly above the space provided for the buyer’s signature:

  “NOTICE TO THE BUYER—DO NOT SIGN THIS AGREEMENT IN BLANK. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT AT THE TIME YOU SIGN. KEEP IT TO PROTECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.”

  (b)(1) The seller shall promptly supply the buyer under the retail charge agreement with a statement as of the end of each monthly period, which need not be a calendar month, or other regular period agreed upon in writing by the seller and buyer, in which there is any unpaid balance under the agreement, which statement shall recite the following:

  (A) the unpaid balance under the retail charge agreement at the beginning and at the end of the period;

  (B) unless otherwise furnished by the seller to the buyer by sales slip, memorandum, or otherwise, a description of the goods or services purchased during the period, the cash price, and the date of each purchase;

  (C) the payments made by the buyer to the seller and other credits to the buyer during the period;

  (D) the amount, if any, of any charge for the period made under subsection (c) of this section; and

  (E) that the buyer may at any time pay the total balance or any part of the total balance.

  (2) The items specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection need not be stated in the sequence or order set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection; additional items may be included, but only to explain the computations made in determining the amount to be paid by the buyer.

  (c) A retail charge agreement may provide for, and the seller or holder may then, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, charge, collect, and receive, in addition to the cash price, a charge for the privilege of making deferred payments under the agreement, which charge shall not exceed the rates authorized by subdivision 41a(b)(9) of this title. If the amount of the finance charge otherwise permitted shall be less than 50 cents for any month or longer regular period, 50 cents may nevertheless be charged, received, and collected. In addition, a retail charge agreement may provide for the payment of reasonable attorney’s fees where it is referred for collection to an attorney who is not a salaried employee of the holder of the retail charge agreement or any indebtedness under the agreement and of court costs and disbursements and also of actual and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the collection. (Added 1963, No. 221, § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 1964; amended 1979, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. April 30, 1980; 1983, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2021, No. 20, § 15.)