A title pledge lender shall not:

(1) Accept a pledge from a person less than eighteen (18) years of age, or from anyone who appears to be intoxicated;

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 45-15-115

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions or the commissioner's designated representative. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Source: OCC
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Person: means an individual, any sole proprietorship, general partnership, corporation or limited liability company duly qualified to do business in Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Pledgor: means the individual or individuals obligated to repay the loan. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Property pledge agreement: means any written bailment or similar agreement whereby a title pledge lender agrees to make a loan of money to a pledgor, and the pledgor agrees to the title pledge lender's taking physical possession of unencumbered titled personal property owned by the pledgor, and taking possession of the personal property certificate of title. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Title pledge agreement: means a thirty-day written agreement whereby a title pledge lender agrees to make a loan of money to a pledgor, and the pledgor agrees to give the title pledge lender a security interest in unencumbered titled personal property owned by the pledgor. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Title pledge lender: means any person engaged in the business of making title pledge agreements or property pledge agreements with pledgors. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Title pledge office: means the location at which, or premises in which, a title pledge lender regularly conducts business. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Titled personal property: means any personal property, the ownership of which is evidenced and delineated by a state-issued certificate of title. See Tennessee Code 45-15-103
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(2) Make any agreement giving the title pledge lender any recourse against the pledgor, other than the title pledge lender’s right to take possession of the titled personal property and certificate of title upon the pledgor’s default or failure to redeem, and to sell or otherwise dispose of the titled personal property, in accordance with this chapter;
(3) Enter into a title pledge agreement in which the amount of money loaned, when combined with the outstanding balance of other outstanding title pledge agreements the pledgor has with the same lender secured by any single certificate of title, exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or enter into a property pledge agreement in which the amount of money loaned exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);
(4) Accept any waiver, in writing or otherwise, of any right or protection accorded a pledgor under this chapter;
(5) Fail to exercise reasonable care to protect from loss or damage titled personal property or certificate of title in the physical possession of the title pledge lender;
(6) Purchase pledged titled personal property that was repossessed in the operation of the lender’s business;
(7) Maintain more than one (1) title pledge office or place of operation for each title pledge lender under each license; provided, however, that the title pledge lender may move from one (1) place of business to another, as permitted in § 45-15-109(a)(1);
(8) Keep open any title pledge office before eight o’clock a.m. (8:00 a.m.), or after six o’clock p.m. (6:00 p.m.), on any day during the year, with the exception of November 25 through December 24 of each year. During that period, a title pledge lender may open the place of business at eight o’clock a.m. (8:00 am.), and shall be entitled to close at nine o’clock p.m. (9:00 p.m.). No title pledge lender shall be open on Sunday. Nothing in this subdivision (8) prohibits a title pledge lender from accepting a payment pursuant to an existing title pledge or property pledge agreement at any time;
(9) Enter into a pledge agreement, unless the pledgor presents a clear title to titled personal property at the time that the loan is made, and the title is retained, after noting of the lien by the state, in the physical possession of the title pledge lender. If the title pledge lender files a lien against the property without possession of a clear title to the property, the resulting lien shall be void;
(10) Capitalize or add any accrued interest or fee to the original principal of the title pledge agreement or property pledge agreement during any renewal of the agreement;
(11) Sell or otherwise charge for any type of insurance in connection with a title pledge agreement or property pledge agreement. Nothing in this subdivision (11) shall prohibit a title pledge lender from offering a pledgor the option to purchase memberships in automobile clubs or associations, as defined in § 55-18-101; provided, that the title pledge lender informs the pledgor in writing that the membership is optional, that the membership can be purchased elsewhere, and that the purchase of the membership has no bearing on whether the pledgor receives a loan;
(12) Charge a prepayment penalty;
(13) Advertise using the words “interest free loans” or “no finance charges,” or engage in any other false or misleading advertising;
(14) Require a pledgor to provide any additional guaranty as a condition of entering into a title pledge agreement;
(15) Use any collection tactics in violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.);
(16) Renew or otherwise consolidate a title pledge agreement or property pledge agreement with the proceeds of another title pledge agreement or property pledge agreement made by the same title pledge lender;
(17) Use any device or agreement, including agreements with affiliated title pledge lenders, with the intent to obtain greater charges than otherwise would be authorized by this chapter; or
(18) Violate this chapter or any rule promulgated pursuant to this chapter by the commissioner.
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