House File 464

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  JOCHUM


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to consumer recovery for certain violations of
  2    the Iowa consumer credit code.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 2741YH 80
  5 jj/pj/5

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 537.5201, subsection 1, unnumbered
  1  2 paragraph 1, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    The consumer, other than a lessee in a consumer rental
  1  4 purchase agreement, has a cause of action to recover actual
  1  5 damages and in addition a right in an action other than a
  1  6 class action to recover from the person violating this chapter
  1  7 a penalty in an amount determined by the court, but not less
  1  8 than one five hundred dollars nor more than one five thousand
  1  9 dollars, if a person has violated the provisions of this
  1 10 chapter relating to:
  1 11    Sec. 2.  Section 537.5201, subsection 3, Code 2003, is
  1 12 amended to read as follows:
  1 13    3.  If a creditor has contracted for or received a charge
  1 14 in excess of that allowed by this chapter, or if a consumer is
  1 15 entitled to a refund and a person liable to the consumer
  1 16 refuses to make a refund within a reasonable time after
  1 17 demand, the consumer may recover from the creditor or the
  1 18 person liable, in an action other than a class action, the
  1 19 excess charge or refund and a penalty in an amount determined
  1 20 by the court not less than one five hundred dollars or more
  1 21 than one five thousand dollars.  With respect to excess
  1 22 charges arising from sales or loans made pursuant to open end
  1 23 credit, no action pursuant to this subsection may be brought
  1 24 more than two years after the time the excess charge was made.
  1 25 With respect to excess charges arising from other consumer
  1 26 credit transactions no action pursuant to this subsection may
  1 27 be brought more than one year after the due date of the last
  1 28 scheduled payment of the agreement pursuant to which the
  1 29 charge was made.  For purposes of this subsection, a
  1 30 reasonable time is presumed to be thirty days.
  1 31                           EXPLANATION
  1 32    This bill raises the amount a consumer may recover, in an
  1 33 action other than a class action, for violations of certain
  1 34 provisions of the Iowa consumer credit code.  Current Code
  1 35 language provides that the range of recovery may be from $100
  2  1 to $1,000.  The bill modifies that range from $500 to $5,000.
  2  2 The court determines the final amount within the range, after
  2  3 presentation of the evidence.
  2  4 LSB 2741YH 80
  2  5 jj/pj/5