CHAPTER 425
CONSUMER TRANSACTIONS — REMEDIES AND PENALTIES
SUBCHAPTER I
CREDITORS' REMEDIES
425.103 Accrual of cause of action; "default".
425.104 Notice of customer's right to cure default.
425.107 Unconscionability.
425.108 Extortionate extensions of credit.
425.110 No discharge from employment for garnishment.
425.111 Levy before judgment.
425.112 Stay of execution.
425.113 Body attachments.
SUBCHAPTER II
ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS IN COLLATERAL
425.202 Definition: "collateral".
425.203 Enforcement of merchant's rights in collateral and leased goods.
425.204 Voluntary surrender of collateral.
425.205 Action to recover collateral.
425.206 Nonjudicial enforcement limited.
425.207 Restraining order to protect collateral or leased goods; abandoned property.
425.208 Customer's right to redeem.
425.209 Restrictions on deficiency judgments.
425.210 Computation of deficiency.
SUBCHAPTER III
CUSTOMER'S REMEDIES
425.301 Remedies to be liberally administered.
425.302 Remedy and penalty for certain violations.
425.303 Remedy and penalty for certain violations.
425.304 Remedy and penalty for certain violations.
425.305 Transactions which are void.
425.306 Unenforceable obligations.
425.307 Limitation of action.
425.308 Reasonable attorney fees.
425.310 Liability of corporate officers.
425.311 Evidence of violation.
SUBCHAPTER IV
CRIMINAL PENALTIES
425.401 Wilful violations: misdemeanor.
Ch. 425 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See definitions in s.
421.301.
CREDITORS' REMEDIES
425.101
425.101
Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Wisconsin consumer act—remedies and penalties.
425.101 History
History: 1971 c. 239.
425.102
425.102
Scope. This subchapter applies to actions or other proceedings brought by a creditor to enforce rights arising from consumer credit transactions and to extortionate extensions of credit under
s. 425.108.
425.102 History
History: 1971 c. 239.
425.102 Annotation
Wisconsin consumer act—a critical analysis. Heiser, 57 MLR 389.
425.102 Annotation
Wisconsin consumer act—a freak out? Barrett, Jones, 57 MLR 483.
425.103
425.103
Accrual of cause of action; "default". 425.103(1)
(1) Notwithstanding any term or agreement to the contrary, no cause of action with respect to the obligation of a customer in a consumer credit transaction shall accrue in favor of a creditor except by reason of a default, as defined in
sub. (2).
425.103(2)
(2) "Default", with respect to a consumer credit transaction, means without justification under any law:
425.103(2)(a)
(a) With respect to a transaction other than one pursuant to an open-end plan; if the interval between scheduled payments is 2 months or less, to have outstanding an amount exceeding one full payment which has remained unpaid for more than 10 days after the scheduled or deferred due dates, or the failure to pay the first payment or the last payment, within 40 days of its scheduled or deferred due date; if the interval between scheduled payments is more than 2 months, to have all or any part of one scheduled payment unpaid for more than 60 days after its scheduled or deferred due date; or, if the transaction is scheduled to be repaid in a single payment, to have all or any part of the payment unpaid for more than 40 days after its scheduled or deferred due date. For purposes of this paragraph the amount outstanding shall not include any delinquency or deferral charges and shall be computed by applying each payment first to the instalment most delinquent and then to subsequent instalments in the order they come due;
425.103(2)(b)
(b) With respect to an open-end plan, failure to pay when due on 2 occasions within any 12-month period; or
425.103(2)(c)
(c) To observe any other covenant of the transaction, breach of which materially impairs the condition, value or protection of or the merchant's right in any collateral securing the transaction or goods subject to a consumer lease, or materially impairs the customer's ability to pay amounts due under the transaction.
425.103(3)
(3) A cause of action with respect to the obligation of a customer in a consumer credit transaction shall be subject to this subchapter, including the provisions relating to cure of default (
ss. 425.104 and
425.105).
425.103(4)
(4) A cause of action arising from a transaction which resulted in the creation of a security interest in personal property shall also be subject to the limitations provided in
subch. II.
425.103 Annotation
Creditor's remedies under the Wisconsin consumer act. 1973 WBB No. 6.
425.103 Annotation
Where a lender is promptly informed that a borrower has a valid disability insurance claim that will cover payments, it is an unconscionable practice to include an unpaid monthly charge that will be covered by the disability insurance in computing the unpaid balance for purposes of establishing default. Bank One Milwaukee, N.A. v. Harris, 209 W (2d) 412, 563 NW (2d) 543 (Ct. App. 1997).
425.104
425.104
Notice of customer's right to cure default. 425.104(1)(1) A merchant who believes that a customer is in default may give the customer written notice of the alleged default and, if applicable, of the customer's right to cure any such default (
s. 425.105).
425.104(2)
(2) Any notice given under this section shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the creditor, a brief identification of the consumer credit transaction, a statement of the nature of the alleged default and a clear statement of the total payment, including an itemization of any delinquency charges, or other performance necessary to cure the alleged default, the exact date by which the amount must be paid or performance tendered and the name, address and telephone number of the person to whom any payment must be made, if other than the creditor.
425.104 History
History: 1971 c. 239.
425.104 Annotation
Notice need not be given where obligation is entirely past due and fully owed, making it impossible for customer to restore loan to current status. Rosendale State Bank v. Schultz, 123 W (2d) 195, 365 NW (2d) 911 (Ct. App. 1985).
425.105(1)(1) A merchant may not accelerate the maturity of a consumer credit transaction, commence any action except as provided in
s. 425.205 (6), or demand or take possession of collateral or goods subject to a consumer lease other than by accepting a voluntary surrender thereof (
s. 425.204), unless the merchant believes the customer to be in default (
s. 425.103), and then only upon the expiration of 15 days after a notice is given pursuant to
s. 425.104 if the customer has the right to cure under this section.
425.105(2)
(2) Except as provided in
sub. (3), for 15 days after such notice is given, a customer may cure a default under a consumer credit transaction by tendering the amount of all unpaid instalments due at the time of the tender, without acceleration, plus any unpaid delinquency or deferral charges, and by tendering performance necessary to cure any default other than nonpayment of amounts due. The act of curing a default restores to the customer the customer's rights under the agreement as though no default had occurred.
425.105(3)
(3) A right to cure shall not exist if the following occurred twice during the preceding 12 months:
425.105(3)(a)
(a) The customer was in default on the same transaction or open-end credit plan;
425.105(3)(b)
(b) The creditor gave the customer notice of the right to cure such previous default in accordance with
s. 425.104; and
425.105(4)
(4) With respect to consumer credit transactions in which the creditor has a security interest in, and possession of, instruments or documents (
s. 409.105) which threaten to decline speedily in value, this section does not restrict the creditor's rights to dispose of such property pursuant to
s. 409.504 and the terms of the creditor's security agreement.
425.106(1)(1) Except to the extent that the merchant has a valid security interest which is permitted by
chs. 421 to
427 and
429 or has a lien under
ch. 779 in such property, or where the transaction is for medical or legal services and there has been no finance charge actually imposed, the following property of the customer shall be exempt from levy, execution, sale, and other similar process in satisfaction of a judgment for an obligation arising from a consumer credit transaction:
425.106(1)(b)
(b) Clothing of the customer or his or her dependents, and the following: dining table and chairs, refrigerator, heating stove, cooking stove, radio, beds and bedding, couch and chairs, cooking utensils and kitchenware and household goods as defined in
12 CFR 227.13 (d),
12 CFR 535.1 (g) or
16 CFR 444.1 (i) consisting of furniture, appliances, one television, linens, china, crockery and personal effects including wedding rings, except works of art, electronic entertainment equipment, antiques and jewelry, to the extent a nonpossessory security interest in these household goods is prohibited under
12 CFR 227.13 (d),
12 CFR 535.2 (a) (4) or
16 CFR 444.2 (a) (4);
425.106(1)(c)
(c) Real property used as the principal residence of the customer or the customer's dependents, to the extent that the fair market value of such property, less all amounts secured by mortgages and liens outstanding against it, is $15,000 or less; and
425.106(1)(d)
(d) Earnings or other assets of the customer which are required to be paid by the customer as restitution under
s. 973.20.
