Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2235A – Short-term consumer loans
(a) In addition to such other limitations and requirements as are imposed pursuant to other provisions of this subchapter, short-term consumer loans shall be subject to the following:
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no licensee shall make, and no borrower shall receive, a short-term consumer loan that would cause the borrower to have more than 5 short-term consumer loans from all licensees in any 12-month period. For the purposes of this section a rollover or a refinancing shall be considered a short-term consumer loan. Any loan made or collected in violation of this paragraph is void, and the licensee does not have the right to collect, receive, or retain any principal, interest, fees or other charges. A violation of this section is a violation of Chapter 25 of Title 6.
(2) No licensee shall make more than 4 rollovers of an existing short-term consumer loan. A licensee may, following not more than the maximum allowable number of rollovers, enter into a workout agreement with the borrower or take such other actions as are lawful to collect any outstanding and unpaid indebtedness.
(3) No licensee shall make a short-term consumer loan unless such loan is subject to a right of recission on the part of the individual borrower.
(4) No licensee shall pursue or threaten to pursue criminal action against an individual borrower in connection with the nonpayment of any amount due, including the unpaid return of any check or automated clearing house transaction.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2235A
- Commissioner: means the State Bank Commissioner. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2201
- Conspicuously displayed: means highlighted through the use of capitalization, bold print, underlining or some combination thereof. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2227
- Loan: means any single extension of closed end credit. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2227
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Right of recission: means , with respect to any short-term consumer loan, the right to return any amount borrowed, in full, on or before the close of business of the business day following the day on which such sum has been disbursed or advanced without the incursion of any fee or other charges. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2227
- Rollover: means , with respect to any short-term consumer loan, the extension of an outstanding and unpaid indebtedness beyond the stated repayment period solely on the basis of the payment of a fee without approval of a new loan application. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2227
- Short-term consumer loan: means a loan of $1,000 or less made to an individual borrower that charges interest and/or fees for which the stated repayment period is less than 60 days and is not secured by title to a motor vehicle. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2227
- Workout agreement: means an agreement between an individual borrower and a licensee for the repayment of an outstanding and unpaid indebtedness. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 2227
(b) In addition to such other disclosure requirements as are imposed pursuant to other provisions of this subchapter, short-term consumer loans shall be subject to the following: No licensee shall make a short-term consumer loan unless the application for such loan, which application shall be written in both English and Spanish, contains a written disclosure, conspicuously displayed, that:
(1) The loan is designed as a short-term cash flow solution and not designed as a solution for longer term financial problems;
(2) Additional fees may accrue if the loan is rolled over; and
(3) Credit counseling services are available to consumers who are experiencing financial problems.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a licensee from refinancing the principal amount of a short-term consumer loan, subject to the limitations and requirements imposed herein.
(d) The Commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to exempt certain loans or classes of loans from the requirements of this section.
(e) Every short-term consumer loan provider must post in plain view, in an area easily accessible to their customers at the entrance to the office and on any website, a schedule of fees and rates applicable to their loans, and a prominent statement that: “A payday loan is not intended to meet long-term financial needs.”
(f) A licensee or licensee’s agent shall not engage in any device or subterfuge intended to evade the requirements of this chapter through any method including, but not limited to, mail, telephone, Internet or any electronic means, including:
(1) Offering, making, or assisting a borrower to obtain a loan in violation of subsection (a) of this section, or brokering or acting as an agent for a third party in such a transaction, regardless of whether approval, acceptance or ratification is necessary to create a legal obligation for the third party.
(2) Disguising a short-term consumer loan as a revolving line of credit, or making or assisting a borrower to obtain a revolving line of credit for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
73 Del. Laws, c. 398, § ?4; 77 Del. Laws, c. 164, § ?5; 78 Del. Laws, c. 278, § ?2;