Section 358-K:1 Definitions.
In this chapter:
I. ""Actuarial method'' means the method of allocating payments made on a debt between the unpaid principal balance and the interest and other charges pursuant to which a payment is applied first to the interest and other charges due and any remainder is subtracted from the unpaid principal balance.
II. ""Closed-end consumer credit transaction'' means a consumer credit transaction other than one pursuant to open-end credit.
III. ""Consumer'' means the buyer or debtor other than an organization to whom credit is extended in a consumer credit transaction.
IV. ""Consumer credit sale'' means a sale of goods or services in which the seller is a creditor, the buyer is a consumer, the goods or services are purchased primarily for a personal, family or household purpose, and the debt is payable in installments or an interest or other charge is made.
V. ""Consumer credit transaction'' means a consumer credit sale or a consumer loan.
VI. ""Consumer loan'' means a loan made by a creditor to a debtor when the debt is incurred primarily for a personal, family or household purpose and when the debt is payable in installments or an interest or other charge is made.
VII. ""Credit'' means the right to defer payments of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment.
VIII. ""Creditor'' means a person who regularly extends credit that is subject to an interest or other charge or is payable, by written agreement, in more than 4 installments.
IX. ""Goods'' means any tangible goods, including manufactured housing as defined in RSA 674:31, which are used or bought primarily for a personal, family or household purpose. The term includes goods which are to become fixtures or which are to become incorporated into a structure. Goods shall not include money or choses in action or other intangible property.
X. ""Precomputed consumer credit transaction'' means a consumer credit transaction in which the debt is a sum comprising the amount of the credit or loan and the amount of the interest and other charges computed in advance.
XI. ""Open-end credit'' means an arrangement pursuant to which:
(a) A creditor may permit a consumer, from time to time, to purchase on credit from the creditor or pursuant to a credit card, or to obtain loans from the creditor or pursuant to a credit card;
(b) The amounts financed and the interest and other appropriate charges are debited to an account;
(c) The interest and other charges, if made, are computed on the account periodically; and
(d) Either the consumer has the privilege of paying in full or in installments or the creditor periodically imposes charges computed on the account for delaying payment and permits the consumer to continue to purchase on credit.
XII. ""Interest'' means the price charged for money loaned or debt deferred, and shall not include other charges as defined in paragraph XIII.
XIII. ""Other charges'' or ""other charge,'' notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, means any cost or charge, other than interest as defined in paragraph XII, including but not limited to origination fees, loan discount, transaction costs, buydown funds, or other fees, including late fees, or assessments, whether or not expressed as a percentage of the amount of the loan or debt, payable directly or indirectly by the consumer and imposed directly or indirectly by the creditor as an incident to or a condition of the extension of credit.
Source. 1983, 463:1. 1986, 92:1. 1994, 206:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1995.