Attorney's Note

Under the Florida Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
misdemeanor of the first degreeup to 1 yearup to $1,000
For details, see Fla. Stat. § 775.082(4)(a)

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 520.12

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • 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
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01

(1) Any person who willfully and intentionally violates any provision of s. 520.995 or engages in the business of a retail installment seller without obtaining a license as required by this part is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(2) In the case of a willful violation of this part with respect to any retail installment sale, the buyer may recover from the person committing such violation, or may set off or counterclaim in any action against the buyer by such person, an amount equal to any finance charge and any fees charged to the buyer by reason of delinquency, plus attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the buyer to assert rights under this part.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to any violation of the requirement in s. 520.07(1)(c) that the seller deliver or mail to the buyer a copy of the contract signed by the seller, if the seller delivered to the buyer at the time the buyer signed the contract an exact copy of the contract that the buyer signed.