Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 6 > Chapter 10-B > Part II - Maximum Charges

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amount deferred: means the cash price subtracting any down payment under a consumer credit sale, plus any other amounts for goods or services including without limitation, any negative equity trade-in allowance, insurance, extended warranty, service contract, and other fees and charges that are financed by the extender of credit under the transaction, and included in the principal balance of the consumer's indebtedness subject to credit service charges. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Amount financed: means the amount borrowed under a consumer loan, plus any other amounts for goods or services including without limitation, any negative equity trade-in allowance, insurance, extended warranty, service contract, notary fees, license, title, filing and lien release fees, and other fees and charges that are financed by the extender of credit under the transaction, and included in the principal balance of the consumer's indebtedness subject to loan finance charges. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Cash price: means the price for which the seller would have sold the motor vehicle to the consumer and the consumer would have bought from the seller if such sale had been a sale for cash instead of on credit. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Consumer: means a natural person who enters into a consumer loan or consumer credit sale of a motor vehicle to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Consumer credit sale: means the sale of a motor vehicle on credit under which the seller acquires a purchase money security interest in the purchased vehicle, and incident to which a credit service charge is charged and the consumer is permitted to defer all or part of the purchase price or other consideration in two or more installments excluding the down payment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Consumer loan: means a loan of money or its equivalent made by a lender, the proceeds of which are used by the consumer to purchase or refinance the purchase of a motor vehicle, or which proceeds are used for personal, family, or household purposes, including debts created by the use of a lender credit card, revolving loan account, or similar arrangement, as well as insurance premium financing, with the lender acquiring a purchase money security interest in the purchased motor vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Contract: means the consumer's retail installment contract, note, agreement, or other evidence of indebtedness executed in connection with a motor vehicle credit transaction. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Credit service charge: means the sum of the following:

  (i)  All charges payable directly or indirectly by the consumer and imposed directly or indirectly by the seller as a requirement of the extension of credit, including any of the following types of charges that are applicable: interest; time price differential; service; carrying or other charge, however denominated; points and discount fees; and premium or other charge for any guarantee or insurance protecting the extender of credit against the consumer's default or other credit loss. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6

• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lender: means the originator of credit under a consumer loan, as well as any assignee or transferee of the consumer's contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Loan finance charge: means the sum of the following:

  (i)  All charges payable directly or indirectly by the consumer and imposed directly or indirectly by the lender as a requirement of the extension of credit, including any of the following types of charges that are applicable:  interest, and any amount payable under a point, discount, or other system of charges, however denominated. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6

• Manufactured home: means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or forty body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Motor vehicle: means any new or used transportation device, including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and other vehicles that are operated over the public highways and the streets of this state, but does not include traction engines, boat trailers, road rollers, implements of husbandry, and other agricultural vehicles. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Motor vehicle credit transaction: means a consumer loan or a consumer credit sale involving a Louisiana consumer, or that is otherwise made subject to this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual or corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust, association, joint venture pool, syndicate, sole proprietorship, unincorporated organization, or any other form of entity not specifically listed herein. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Precomputed transaction: means a motor vehicle credit transaction under which loan finance charges or credit service charges are computed in advance over the entire scheduled term of the transaction and capitalized into the face amount of the contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Pro rata: refers to a method of computing deferral charges by dividing the precomputed loan finance charge or precomputed credit service charge by the total number of days in the contract term and multiplying the sum by the number of days that are deferred. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Seller: means the seller of a motor vehicle, including the seller of a motor vehicle under a consumer credit sale, as well as any assignee or transferee of the consumer's contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Simple interest transaction: means a motor vehicle credit transaction under which loan finance charges or credit service charges are assessed by application of a contractual simple interest rate or rates to the unpaid principal balance of the contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:969.6
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.