408.300. Time charges, amount authorized on retail time contracts--retail charge agreements, time charges authorized.
Time charges, amount authorized on retail time contracts--retailcharge agreements, time charges authorized.
408.300. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, theseller or other holder under a retail time contract may charge, receive andcollect a time charge, which shall be in lieu of any interest charges,except such as may arise under the terms of sections 408.250 to 408.370after maturity of the time contract and which charge shall not exceed theamount agreed to by the parties to the retail time contract. The timecharge under this subsection shall be computed on the principal balance ofeach transaction, as determined under subsection 5 of section 408.260, oncontracts payable in successive monthly payments substantially equal inamount from the date of the contract to the maturity of the final payment,notwithstanding that the total time balance thereof is required to be paidin one or more deferred payments, or if goods are delivered or servicesperformed more than ten days after that date, with the date of commencementof delivery of goods or performance of services to the maturity of thefinal payment. When a retail time contract provides for payment other thanin substantially equal successive monthly payments, the time charge shallnot exceed the amount which will provide the same return as is permitted onsubstantially equal monthly payment contracts. Each day may be counted asone-thirtieth of a month. In lieu of any other charge, a minimum timecharge of twelve dollars may be charged, received, and collected on eachsuch contract.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the seller andassignee under a retail charge agreement may charge, receive and collect atime charge which shall not exceed the amount agreed to by the parties tothe retail charge agreement. The time charge under this subsection shallbe computed on an amount not exceeding the greater of either:
(1) The average daily balance of the account in the billing cycle forwhich the charge is made, which is the sum of the amount unpaid each dayduring that cycle divided by the number of days in that cycle; amountunpaid on a day is determined by adding to any balance unpaid as of thebeginning of that day all purchases and other debits and deducting allpayments and other credits made or received as of that day; or
(2) The unpaid balance of the account on the last day of the billingcycle after first deducting all payments, credits and refunds during thebilling cycle; or for all unpaid balances within a range of not in excessof ten dollars on the basis of the median amount within such range, if asso computed such time charge is applied to all unpaid balances within suchrange. A minimum time charge not in excess of seventy cents per month maybe charged, received and collected.
3. The time charge shall include all charges incident toinvestigating and making any retail time transaction. No fee, expense,delinquency charge, collection charge, or other charge whatsoever, shall becharged, received, or collected except as provided in sections 408.250 to408.370.
(L. 1961 p. 638 § 7, A.L. 1975 S.B. 71, A.L. 1979 S.B. 305, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1195, A.L. 1981 S.B. 5 Revision, A.L. 1981 H.B. 256, A.L. 1985 H.B. 358 & 440, A.L. 1996 S.B. 898)