AB954: Bill Text

AB954,12,8 218.01 (3) (a) 19. Having advertised, printed, displayed, published, distributed, broadcast or televised or caused or permitted to be advertised, printed, displayed, published, distributed, broadcast or televised in any manner whatsoever, any statement or representation with regard to the sale, lease or financing of motor vehicles which is false, deceptive or misleading.

AB954, s. 30 Section 30. 218.01 (3) (a) 20. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,12,16 218.01 (3) (a) 20. Having set up, promoted or aided in the promotion of a plan by which motor vehicles are sold or leased to a person for a consideration and upon the further consideration that the purchaser or lessee agrees to secure one or more persons to participate in the plan by respectively making a similar purchase or lease and in turn agreeing to secure one or more persons likewise to join in said plan, each purchaser or lessee being given the right to secure money, credits, goods or something of value, depending upon the number of persons joining in the plan.

AB954, s. 31 Section 31. 218.01 (3) (a) 21. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,12,24 218.01 (3) (a) 21. Being a dealer who keeps open the dealer's place of business on Sunday for the purpose of buying, leasing or selling motor vehicles; but nothing in this subdivision shall apply to any person who conscientiously believes that the 7th day of the week, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, should be observed as the Sabbath and who actually refrains from conducting or engaging in the business of buying, leasing, selling or offering for lease or sale motor vehicles, or performing other secular business on that day.

AB954, s. 32 Section 32. 218.01 (3) (a) 25. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,13,1 218.01 (3) (a) 25. Having violated chs. 421 to 427 or 429.

AB954, s. 33 Section 33. 218.01 (3) (a) 29. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,13,5 218.01 (3) (a) 29. Being an inactive business, as evidenced by 3 or less motor vehicle purchases and sales or consumer leases during the prior year licensing period.

AB954, s. 34 Section 34. 218.01 (3) (bf) 1. of the statutes, as affected by 1995 Wisconsin Act 27, is amended to read:

AB954,13,16 218.01 (3) (bf) 1. The department of transportation shall not license as a dealer an applicant for the sale or lease of motor vehicles at retail unless such applicant owns or leases a vehicle display lot and a permanent building wherein there are facilities to display automobiles and motorcycles and facilities to repair functional and nonfunctional parts of motor vehicles and where replacement parts, repair tools and equipment to service motor vehicles are kept, and at which place of business shall be kept and maintained the books, records and files necessary to conduct the business. A residence, tent or temporary stand is not a sufficiently permanent place of business within the meaning of this paragraph.

AB954, s. 35 Section 35. 218.01 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,14,2 218.01 (5) (a) The licensor shall promote the interests of retail buyers and lessees of motor vehicles relating to default, delinquency, repossession or collection charges and the refund of the finance charge and insurance premium on prepayment of the instalment contract or consumer lease. It may define unfair practices in the motor vehicle industry and trade between licensees or between any licensees and retail buyers, lessees or prospective lessees of motor vehicles, but may not limit the price at which licensees may sell, assign or transfer receivables, contracts or other evidence of any obligation arising out of an instalment sale or consumer lease made under this section.

AB954, s. 36 Section 36. 218.01 (6) (b) (intro.) of the statutes, as affected by 1995 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 218.01 (6) (b) and amended to read:

AB954,14,20 218.01 (6) (b) Prior to or concurrent with any instalment sale, the seller shall deliver to the buyer a written statement describing clearly the motor vehicle sold to the buyer, the cash sale price, the cash paid down by the buyer, the amount credited the buyer for any trade-in and a description of the trade-in, the cost to the retail buyer of any insurance, the amount financed which may include the cost of insurance, sales and use taxes, the amount of the finance charge, the amount of any other charge specifying its purpose, the total of payments due from the buyer, the terms of the payment of such total, the amount and date of each payment necessary finally to pay the total and a summary of any insurance coverage to be effected. The division of banking may determine the form of the statement. If a written order is taken from a prospective purchaser in connection with any instalment sale, the written statement shall be given to the purchaser prior to or concurrent with the signing of the order by the purchaser. The finance charge in a retail instalment sale made prior to April 6, 1980, however computed, excluding the cost of insurance shall not exceed the amount computed on the basis of the following annual percentage rates:

AB954, s. 37 Section 37. 218.01 (6) (b) 1. to 8. of the statutes are repealed.

AB954, s. 38 Section 38. 218.01 (6) (bm) and (bn) of the statutes are repealed.

AB954, s. 39 Section 39. 218.01 (6) (bp) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,15,3 218.01 (6) (bp) A retail instalment sale made after October 31, 1984, is not subject to any maximum finance charge limit rate. The maximum allowable finance charge shall be computed on the declining principal balance of the amount financed as determined under par. (b) at the annual percentage rate, disclosed pursuant to subch. III of ch. 422, according to the actuarial method as defined in s. 421.301 (1).

AB954, s. 40 Section 40. 218.01 (6) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,15,8 218.01 (6) (d) A violation of par. (a), (b), (bm), (bn), or (bp) or (k) bars recovery of any finance charge by the seller, or an assignee of the seller who, at the time of the assignment, had knowledge of the violation, in any suit upon a sales contract arising from the sale where the violation occurred.

AB954, s. 41 Section 41. 218.01 (6) (j) of the statutes is repealed.

AB954, s. 42 Section 42. 218.01 (6x) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,15,13 218.01 (6x) Prelease agreements. (a) Every prelease agreement shall be in writing, which shall contain all of the agreements of the parties with respect to entering into a consumer lease and shall be signed by both parties.

AB954,15,15 (b) No prelease agreement shall be binding on a prospective lessee unless all of the following apply:

AB954,15,18 1. All of the information required to be disclosed under par. (d) or in a consumer lease under s. 429.203 (3) and (4) is disclosed in writing to the prospective lessee before the execution of the prelease agreement by the prospective lessee.

AB954,15,21 2. The prelease agreement contains, directly above the place for the prospective lessee's signature, a notice in substantially the following language in bold-faced capital letters of not less than 10-point type:

AB954,15,22 NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE LESSEE

AB954,16,3 a. THIS IS A BINDING PRELEASE AGREEMENT. BY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT, YOU WILL BECOME OBLIGATED TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PROSPECTIVE LESSOR TO LEASE THE VEHICLE DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE AND READY TO BE DELIVERED TO YOU, UPON LEASE TERMS DISCLOSED IN THIS AGREEMENT OR IN THE ATTACHED DISCLOSURE STATEMENT, IF ANY.

AB954,16,5 b. DO NOT SIGN THIS AGREEMENT BEFORE YOU READ IT, INCLUDING THE WRITING ON THE REVERSE SIDE.

AB954,16,6 c. DO NOT SIGN THIS IF IT CONTAINS ANY BLANK SPACES.

AB954,16,8 d. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO AN EXACT COPY OF ANY AGREEMENT YOU SIGN.

AB954,16,16 (c) An exact copy of the prelease agreement shall be furnished by the prospective lessor to the prospective lessee at the time that the prospective lessee signs the agreement. The prospective lessee's copy of the agreement shall contain the signature of the prospective lessor identical with the signature on the original contract. No agreement shall be signed in blank except that a detailed description of the motor vehicle, including the serial number or other identifying marks of the vehicle, that is not available at the time of execution of such agreement may be omitted.

AB954,16,22 (d) A prospective lessor may cancel a prelease agreement that is contingent upon approval of the prospective lessee's credit by a sales finance company to whom the prospective lessor intends to assign the consumer lease, if the agreement contains a provision requiring the prospective lessor to give the prospective lessee written notice of such cancellation within 10 business days of execution of the agreement and the notice is given to the prospective lessee.

AB954,17,2 (e) No prelease agreement may contain a clause which, upon nonacceptance of the vehicle by the prospective lessee, would subject the prospective lessee to a penalty greater than 5% of the capitalized cost, as defined in s. 429.104 (5), of the vehicle.

AB954, s. 43 Section 43. 218.01 (7b) of the statutes, as affected by 1995 Wisconsin Act 27, is amended to read:

AB954,17,24 218.01 (7b) (title) Purchase or lease of motor vehicle by minor. No minor shall purchase or lease any motor vehicle unless the minor, at the time of purchase or lease, submits to the seller or lessor a statement verified before a person authorized to administer oaths and made and signed by either parent of the purchaser or lessee, if such parent has custody of the minor or, if neither parent has custody, then by the person having custody, setting forth that the purchaser or lessee has consent to purchase or lease the vehicle. The signature on the statement shall not impute any liability for the purchase price of the motor vehicle or for any payments under the consumer lease to the consenting person. The statement shall not adversely affect any other arrangement for the assumption of liability for the purchase price or any lease payments which the consenting person may make. The If a vehicle is purchased by a minor, the signed statement shall accompany the application for a certificate of title and shall be filed by the department of transportation with the application. Failure to obtain the consent or to forward it, together with the application for a certificate of title in the event of the purchase of a motor vehicle, shall not void the contract of sale or consumer lease of a motor vehicle in the hands of an innocent holder, without notice, for value and in the ordinary course of business. Any person who sells or leases a motor vehicle to a minor with knowledge of such fact without procuring such a statement may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than 6 months or both.

AB954, s. 44 Section 44. 218.01 (9) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,18,4 218.01 (9) (b) Any retail buyer, lessee or prospective lessee suffering pecuniary loss because of a violation by a licensee of sub. (3) (a) 4., 5., 6., 8., 9., 10., 11., 18., 25. or 31. may recover damages for the loss in any court of competent jurisdiction together with costs, including reasonable attorney fees.

AB954, s. 45 Section 45. 344.51 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,18,7 344.51 (title) Financial responsibility for domestic rented or leased vehicles.

AB954, s. 46 Section 46. 344.51 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,18,17 344.51 (1) No person may for compensation rent or lease any motor vehicle to be operated by or with the consent of the person renting or leasing the vehicle unless there is filed with the department a good and sufficient bond or policy of insurance issued by an insurer authorized to do an automobile liability insurance or surety business in this state. The bond, policy or certificate shall provide that the insurer which issued it will be liable for damages caused by the negligent operation of the motor vehicle in the amounts set forth in s. 344.01 (2) (d). No person complying with this subsection is liable for damages caused by the negligent operation of the motor vehicle.

AB954, s. 47 Section 47. 344.51 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,18,24 344.51 (2) Any person failing to comply with this section is directly liable for all damages caused by the negligence of the person operating such rented or leased vehicle to the extent that such liability could have been established if this section had been complied with, but such liability may not exceed the limits set forth in s. 344.01 (2) (d) with respect to the acceptable limits of liability when furnishing proof of financial responsibility.

AB954, s. 48 Section 48. 421.103 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,19,3 421.103 (2) Unless terms used in chs. 421 to 427 are defined by particular provisions of chs. 421 to 427, they shall have the meaning given them in chs. 401 to 411 and 429, if they are defined in chs. 401 to 411 or 429.

AB954, s. 49 Section 49. 421.103 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,19,6 421.103 (5) Unless superseded by the particular provisions of ch. 429, chs. 421 to 427 apply to motor vehicle consumer leases.

AB954, s. 50 Section 50. 421.201 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,19,17 421.201 (5) Subchapters I and II of ch. 425, relating to creditors' remedies, including applicable penalties, apply to actions or other proceedings brought in this state to enforce rights arising from consumer transactions or extortionate extensions of credit, wherever made, but conduct, action or proceedings to recover collateral or goods subject to a motor vehicle consumer lease shall be governed by the law of the state where the collateral is or goods subject to a motor vehicle consumer lease are located at the time of its recovery unless the collateral is or goods subject to a motor vehicle consumer lease are owned by a Wisconsin resident, who has removed it the collateral or goods from this state only for purposes of transportation to or use in the resident's employment or for temporary periods which do not exceed 15 days.

AB954, s. 51 Section 51. 421.202 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,19,22 421.202 (6) Consumer credit transactions in which the amount financed exceeds $25,000, motor vehicle consumer leases in which the total lease obligation exceeds $25,000 or other consumer transactions in which the cash price exceeds $25,000;

AB954, s. 52 Section 52. 421.202 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,19,24 421.202 (7) Transactions subject to ch. 428; or

AB954, s. 53 Section 53. 421.202 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,20,2 421.202 (8) Transactions in securities accounts or securities transactions by or with a broker-dealer, as defined in s. 551.02 (3), licensed under ch. 551.; or

AB954, s. 54 Section 54. 421.202 (9) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,20,5 421.202 (9) Leases of motor vehicles that are not motor vehicle consumer leases under s. 421.301 (25m).

AB954, s. 55 Section 55. 421.301 (20) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,20,15 421.301 (20) (intro.)  "Finance charge" means the sum of all charges, payable directly or indirectly by the customer as an incident to or as a condition of the extension of credit, whether paid or payable by the customer, the creditor or any other person on behalf of the customer to the creditor or to a 3rd party unless the creditor had no notice or knowledge of the charges paid or payable to the 3rd party. The term does not include any charge with respect to a motor vehicle consumer lease. The term includes the following types of charges to the extent they are not permitted additional charges under s. 422.202 or, delinquency charges (under s. 422.203 ) or deferral charges (under s. 422.204):

AB954, s. 56 Section 56. 421.301 (25m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,20,18 421.301 (25m) "Motor vehicle consumer lease" has the meaning given for "consumer lease" in s. 429.104 (9).

AB954, s. 57 Section 57. 421.301 (35) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,20,23 421.301 (35) "Precomputed" with respect to a consumer credit transaction means a consumer credit transaction, other than a motor vehicle consumer lease, in which debt is expressed as a single sum comprised of the amount financed and the finance charge computed in advance.

AB954, s. 58 Section 58. 421.301 (43m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,21,2 421.301 (43m) "Total lease obligation" means the sum of the following with respect to a motor vehicle consumer lease:

AB954,21,3 (a) All scheduled periodic payments under the lease.

AB954,21,4 (b) Capitalized cost reduction, as defined in s. 429.104 (6).

AB954, s. 59 Section 59. 422.201 (4) of the statutes is repealed.

AB954, s. 60 Section 60. 422.201 (7) (intro.) and (a) of the statutes are amended to read:

AB954,21,10 422.201 (7) (intro.) Subject to classifications and differentiations the merchant may reasonably establish, the merchant may make the same finance charge on all amounts financed within a specified range. A finance charge so made does not violate sub. (2), or (3) or (4) as the case may be if:

AB954,21,12 (a) When applied to the median amount within each range, it does not exceed the maximum permitted by sub. (2), or (3) or (4) as the case may be; and

AB954, s. 61 Section 61. 422.201 (8), (9) and (12) of the statutes are amended to read:

AB954,21,20 422.201 (8) That portion of the finance charge consisting of an amount equal to a discount of 5% or less of the stated price which is offered to induce payment in full within a stated period of time in connection with a sale for agricultural purposes or a sale of particular goods and services for which credit is not otherwise available from the merchant shall not be included in the finance charge for the purpose of determining the maximum rate of finance charge under sub. (2), or (3) or (4) with respect to a customer who does not pay in full within such time.

AB954,21,24 (9) Notwithstanding sub. (2), or (3) or (4), a merchant may contract for and receive a minimum finance charge with respect to a transaction other than one pursuant to an open-end credit plan, of not more than $5 when the amount financed does not exceed $75, or $7.50 when the amount financed exceeds $75.

AB954,22,3 (12) Except as provided in sub. (4), this This section does not apply to a consumer credit transaction primarily for an agricultural purpose if the transaction occurs on or after April 6, 1980.

AB954, s. 62 Section 62. 422.201 (12m) of the statutes is renumbered 422.201 (12m) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB954,22,7 422.201 (12m) (intro.) This section does not apply to consumer any of the following:

AB954,22,10 (b) Consumer credit sales of or consumer loans secured by a first lien on or equivalent security interest in mobile homes as defined in s. 218.10 (2), if the sales or loans are made on or after November 1, 1981.

AB954, s. 63 Section 63. 422.201 (12m) (a) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,22,12 422.201 (12m) (a) Motor vehicle consumer leases.

AB954, s. 64 Section 64. 422.202 (1) (e) of the statutes is created to read:

AB954,22,17 422.202 (1) (e) With respect to a motor vehicle consumer lease, any reasonable fee or charge that, if disclosed in writing to the prospective lessee before execution of the motor vehicle consumer lease, is agreed upon by the lessor and lessee and that is not prohibited by chs. 421 to 427 and 429.

AB954, s. 65 Section 65. 422.207 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,23,6 422.207 (1) With respect to a consumer credit transaction the parties may, to the extent not prohibited by chs. 421 to 427 or 429, agree that the customer will perform certain duties with respect to preserving or insuring collateral or goods subject to a motor vehicle consumer lease, if such duties are reasonable in relation to the risk of loss of or damage to the collateral or goods. If the customer fails to so perform the creditor may, if authorized by the agreement, pay for the performance of such duties on behalf of the customer. The amount paid may be added to the unpaid balance of the customer's obligation, if, in the absence of performance, the merchant has made all expenditures on behalf of the customer in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner and except in the case of a transaction for an agricultural purpose where the collateral is perishable and threatens to decline speedily in value, the merchant has given the customer written notice of the nonperformance and reasonable opportunity after such notice to so perform.

AB954, s. 66 Section 66. 422.207 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB954,23,14 422.207 (3) A finance charge may be made for sums advanced pursuant to sub. (1) at a rate not exceeding the rate stated to the customer pursuant to the provisions on disclosure in subch. III, or if no disclosure is required then at the annual rate of finance charge assessed on that transaction. With respect to an open-end credit plan the amount of the advance may be added to the unpaid balance of the account and the merchant may make a finance charge not exceeding that permitted by s. 422.201. This subsection does not apply to a motor vehicle consumer lease.

AB954, s. 67 Section 67. 422.208 of the statutes is amended to read: