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
425.203 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.
425.2065 Notice to law enforcement.
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 Willful 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 installment most delinquent and then to subsequent installments 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;
425.103(2)(bm)
(bm) With respect to a motor vehicle consumer lease or a consumer credit sale of a motor vehicle, making a material false statement in the customer's credit application that precedes the consumer credit transaction; 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
When a lender was promptly informed that a borrower had a valid disability insurance claim that would cover payments, it was an unconscionable practice to include an unpaid monthly charge that would be covered by the disability insurance in computing the unpaid balance for purposes of establishing default. Bank One Milwaukee, N.A. v. Harris,
209 Wis. 2d 412,
563 N.W.2d 543 (Ct. App. 1997),
96-0903.
425.103 Annotation
Under sub. (2) (a), when payments are scheduled less than 2 months apart, a consumer is in default when an amount greater than one full payment remains unpaid for over 10 days, not when a single payment is unpaid for more than 10 days. Indianhead Motors v. Brooks, 2006 WI App 266,
297 Wis. 2d 821,
726 N.W.2d 352,
06-1002.
425.103 Annotation
Creditor's remedies under the Wisconsin consumer act. 1973 WBB No. 6.
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 if the obligation is entirely past due and fully owed, making it impossible for the customer to restore the loan to current status. Rosendale State Bank v. Schultz,
123 Wis. 2d 195,
365 N.W.2d 911 (Ct. App. 1985).
425.104 Annotation
The s. 425.105 (1) prohibition of suits except when notice is given pursuant to s. 425.104 imposes timing and content requirements for the notice. A notice that did not meet the timing requirements of ss. 425.103 (2) (a) and 425.104 (1) never gave notice "pursuant to s. 425.104." Thus suit was barred by s. 425.105 (1). Indianhead Motors v. Brooks, 2006 WI App 266,
297 Wis. 2d 821,
726 N.W.2d 352,
06-1002.
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
subs. (3) and
(3m), 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 installments 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
