ORS Chapter 83
Chapter 83 — RetailInstallment Contracts
2009 EDITION
RETAILINSTALLMENT CONTRACTS
COMMERCIALTRANSACTIONS
GOODSAND SERVICES
83.010 Definitionsfor ORS 83.010 to 83.190
83.020 Retailinstallment contract requirements; exceptions
83.030 Contentsof contract
83.040 Subsequentpurchases under original contract
83.050 Contractscompleted by mail and based on catalog of seller
83.060 Fillingblanks
83.070 Deliveryof copy of contract to buyer
83.080 Informingbuyer of service charge and right to prepay; monthly statement
83.090 Servicecharge; other fees
83.095 Servicecharge computed by actuarial method
83.100 Extracharges; miscellaneous provisions of contract
83.110 Insurance
83.120 Receipts;schedule of payments
83.130 Voluntaryprepayment by buyer; refund
83.140 Consolidationof purchases with prior contract
83.150 Unenforceablecontract provisions
83.160 Waiverof ORS 83.010 to 83.190
83.170 Effectof violation of ORS 83.010 to 83.190 by seller
83.180 Enforcementof ORS 83.010 to 83.190
83.190 Civilpenalties
MOTORVEHICLES; MOBILE HOMES
83.510 Definitionsfor ORS 83.510 to 83.680
83.520 Formand contents of retail installment contract
83.530 Fillingblanks
83.540 Deliveryof copy of contract to buyer
83.560 Financecharge
83.565 Financecharge computed by actuarial method; requirements; notice
83.580 Insurance
83.590 Delinquencyand collection charges
83.600 Scheduleof payments; receipts
83.610 Deliveryto buyer of instrument indicating full payment; release of security
83.620 Voluntaryprepayment by buyer; refund
83.630 Extensionof scheduled due date; deferment of scheduled payment; refinance charge
83.635 Acceptanceof retail installment contract by lender
83.650 Effectof negotiation of notes on rights against motor vehicle dealer
83.660 Accelerationprovision
83.670 Unenforceablecontract provisions
83.680 Waiverof provisions of ORS 83.510 to 83.680
HOMESOLICITATION SALES
83.710 Definitionsfor ORS 83.710 to 83.750; application of ORS 83.710 to 83.750
83.715 Telephonesolicitation sale; contract; contents
83.720 Cancellationof home solicitation sale; notice; exception
83.730 Writtenagreement or offer to purchase; contents; notice of buyer’s right to cancel;form
83.740 Dutiesof seller upon cancellation of sale or revocation of offer to purchase
83.750 Rightsand duties of buyer upon cancellation of sale or revocation of offer topurchase
MISCELLANEOUS
83.811 Exemptionfrom certain disclosure requirements for motor vehicle dealer or retail seller
83.813 Exemptionfrom certain disclosure requirements for assignee of retail installmentcontract
83.820 Consumerpaper; negotiability; exception; rights and liabilities of assignees
83.850 Definitionsfor ORS 83.850 and 83.860
83.860 Applicabilityof claims and defenses of borrower or lessee when loan made or lease funded inclose connection with sale or retail lease
83.875 Definitionsfor ORS 83.875, 83.880, 83.890 and 83.895
83.880 Saleof motor vehicles, goods or services as time sale rather than loan
83.885 Saleof motor vehicles, personal property or services for business or commercialpurposes as time sale rather than loan
83.890 Noticerequired in contract when seller intends to transfer contract
83.895 Effectof seller’s failure to provide notice
PENALTIES
83.990 Penalties
GOODSAND SERVICES
83.010Definitions for ORS 83.010 to 83.190. As used in ORS 83.010 to 83.190 unlessthe context requires otherwise:
(1)“Cash sale price” means the price for which the seller would have sold orfurnished to the buyer, and the buyer would have bought or obtained from theseller, the goods or services which are the subject matter of a retailinstallment transaction, if the sale had been a sale for cash. The cash saleprice may include any taxes, registration and license fees and charges fortransferring vehicle titles, delivery, installation, servicing, repairs,alterations or improvements.
(2)“Goods” means all chattels personal, other than motor vehicles as defined inORS 83.510, when purchased primarily for personal, family or household use andnot for commercial or business use, but not including money or, except asprovided in the next sentence, things in action. “Goods” includes but is notlimited to merchandise certificates or coupons, issued by a retail seller, tobe used in their face amount in lieu of cash in exchange for goods or servicessold by such a seller and goods which, at the time of sale or subsequently, areto be so affixed to real property as to become a part thereof, whether or not severabletherefrom.
(3)“Official fees” means the amount of the fees prescribed by law for filing,recording or otherwise perfecting, and releasing or satisfying, a retainedtitle, lien or other security interest created by a retail installmenttransaction.
(4)“Principal balance” means the cash sale price of the goods or services whichare the subject matter of a retail installment contract less the amount of thebuyer’s down payment in money or goods or both, plus the amounts, if any,included therein, if a separate identified charge is made therefor and statedin the contract, for insurance and official fees.
(5)“Rate” means the percentage which, when multiplied times the outstandingbalance for each month or other installment period, yields the amount of theservice charge for such month or period.
(6)“Retail buyer” or “buyer” means a person who buys or agrees to buy goods orobtains services or agrees to have services rendered or furnished, from aretail seller.
(7)“Retail charge agreement,” “revolving charge agreement” or “charge agreement”means an agreement entered into or performed in this state prescribing theterms of retail installment transactions which may be made thereunder from timeto time and under the terms of which a service charge is to be computed inrelation to the buyer’s unpaid balance from time to time.
(8)“Retail installment contract” or “contract” means a contract, other than aretail charge agreement or an instrument reflecting a sale made pursuantthereto, entered into or performed in this state for a retail installmenttransaction. “Retail installment contract” includes a chattel mortgage, aconditional sale contract and a contract in the form of a bailment or a leaseif the bailee or lessee contracts to pay as compensation for their use a sumsubstantially equivalent to or in excess of the value of the goods sold and ifit is agreed that the bailee or lessee is bound to become, or for no other or amerely nominal consideration, has the option of becoming the owner of the goodsupon full compliance with the provisions of the bailment or lease.
(9)“Retail installment transaction” means any transaction in which a retail buyerpurchases goods or services from a retail seller pursuant to a retailinstallment contract or a retail charge agreement which provides for a servicecharge and under which the buyer agrees to pay the unpaid balance in one ormore installments.
(10)“Retail seller” or “seller” means a person engaged in the business of sellinggoods or services to retail buyers.
(11)“Service charge” however denominated or expressed, means the amount which ispaid or payable for the privilege of purchasing goods or services to be paidfor by the buyer in installments over a period of time. “Service charge” doesnot include the amount, if any, charged for insurance premiums, delinquencycharges, attorney fees, court costs or official fees.
(12)“Services” means work, labor or services of any kind when purchased primarilyfor personal, family or household use and not for commercial or business usewhether or not furnished in connection with the delivery, installation,servicing, repair or improvement of goods and includes repairs, alterations orimprovements upon or in connection with real property, but does not include servicesfor which the price charged is required by law to be determined or approved byor to be filed, subject to approval or disapproval, with the United States orany state, or any department, division, agency, officer or official of eitheras in the case of transportation services.
(13)“Time balance” means the principal balance plus the service charge. [1963 c.489§1]
83.020Retail installment contract requirements; exceptions. (1) Except asprovided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, every retail installmentcontract shall be contained in a single document which shall contain the entireagreement of the parties including any promissory notes or other evidences ofindebtedness between the parties relating to the transaction, except as providedin ORS 83.040, 83.050 and 83.140.
(2)Where the buyer’s obligation to pay the time balance is represented by apromissory note secured by a chattel mortgage, the promissory note may be aseparate instrument if the mortgage recites the amount and terms of payment ofsuch note and the promissory note recites that it is secured by a mortgage.
(3)In a transaction involving the repair, alteration or improvement upon or inconnection with real property, the contract may be secured by a mortgage on thereal property contained in a separate document. Home improvement retail salestransactions which are financed or insured by the Federal HousingAdministration are not subject to ORS 83.010 to 83.190.
(4)The contract shall be dated, signed by the retail buyer and completed as to allessential provisions, except as otherwise provided in ORS 83.050 and 83.060.The printed or typed portion of the contract, other than instructions forcompletion, shall be in a size equal to at least 8-point type. [1963 c.489 §2]
83.030Contents of contract.The retail installment contract shall contain the names of the seller and thebuyer, the place of business of the seller, the residence or other address ofthe buyer as specified by the buyer and a description or identification of thegoods sold or to be sold, or services furnished or rendered or to be furnishedor rendered. The contract also shall contain the following items, which shallbe set forth in the sequence appearing below; however, additional items may beincluded to explain the calculations involved in determining the balance to bepaid by the buyer:
(1)The cash sale price of each item of goods or services;
(2)The amount of the buyer’s down payment, identifying the amounts paid in moneyand allowed for goods traded in;
(3)The difference between subsections (1) and (2) of this section;
(4)The aggregate amount, if any, included for insurance, specifying the type ortypes of insurance and the terms of coverage;
(5)The aggregate amount of official fees;
(6)The principal balance, which is the sum of subsections (3), (4) and (5) of thissection;
(7)The dollar amount or rate of the service charge;
(8)The amount of the time balance owed by the buyer to the seller, which is thesum of subsections (6) and (7) of this section, if subsection (7) is stated ina dollar amount; and
(9)The maximum number of installment payments required, the amount of eachinstallment and the due date of each payment necessary to pay such balance.However, if installment payments other than the final payment are stated as aseries of equal scheduled amounts and if the amount of the final installmentpayment does not substantially exceed the scheduled amount of each precedinginstallment payment, the maximum number of payments and the amount and due dateof each payment need not be separately stated and the amount of the scheduledfinal installment payment may be stated as the remaining unpaid balance. Thedue date of the first installment payment may be fixed by a day or date or maybe fixed by reference to the date of the contract or to the time of delivery orinstallation. [1963 c.489 §4]
83.040Subsequent purchases under original contract. A retail installment contractmay be contained in more than one document, provided that one such documentshall be an original document signed by the retail buyer, stated to beapplicable to purchases of goods or services to be made by the retail buyerfrom time to time. In such case such document, together with the sales slip,account book or other written statement relating to each purchase, shall setforth all of the information required by ORS 83.030 and shall constitute theretail installment contract for each purchase. On each succeeding purchasepursuant to such original document, the sales slip, account book or otherwritten statement may at the option of the seller constitute the memorandumrequired by ORS 83.140. [1963 c.489 §5]
83.050Contracts completed by mail and based on catalog of seller. (1) Retailinstallment contracts negotiated and entered into by mail without personalsolicitation by salesmen or other representatives of the seller and based upona catalog of the seller, or other printed solicitation of business, if suchcatalog or other printed solicitation clearly sets forth the cash sale pricesand other terms of sales to be made through such medium, may be made asprovided in this section. The provisions of ORS 83.010 to 83.190 with respectto retail installment contracts shall be applicable to such sales, except thatthe retail installment contract, when completed by the buyer need not containthe items required by ORS 83.030.
(2)When the contract is received from the retail buyer, the seller shall prepare awritten memorandum containing all of the information required by ORS 83.030 tobe included in a retail installment contract. In lieu of delivering a copy ofthe contract to the retail buyer as provided in ORS 83.070, the seller shalldeliver to the buyer a copy of such memorandum prior to the due date of thefirst installment payable under the contract. However, if the catalog or otherprinted solicitation does not set forth all of the other terms of sales inaddition to the cash sale prices, such memorandum shall be delivered to thebuyer prior to or at the time of delivery of the goods or services. [1963 c.489§6]
83.060Filling blanks.The seller shall not obtain the signature of the buyer to any contract when itcontains blank spaces of items which are essential provisions of thetransaction except as provided in ORS 83.050. However, if delivery of the goodsis not made at the time of the execution of the contract, the identifyingnumbers or marks of the goods or similar information and the due date of thefirst installment may be inserted by the seller in the seller’s counterpart ofthe contract after it has been signed by the buyer. [1963 c.489 §7]
83.070Delivery of copy of contract to buyer. The retail seller shall deliver to theretail buyer, or mail to the retail buyer at the address shown on the retailinstallment contract, a copy of the contract as accepted by the seller. Untilthe seller does so, the buyer shall be obligated to pay only the cash saleprice. Any acknowledgment by the buyer of delivery of a copy of the contractshall be in a size equal to at least 10-point bold type and, if contained inthe contract, shall appear directly above the buyer’s signature. [1963 c.489 §3]
83.080Informing buyer of service charge and right to prepay; monthly statement. (1) At or priorto the time a retail charge agreement is made the seller shall advise the buyerin writing, on the application form or otherwise, or orally, that a servicecharge will be computed on the outstanding balance for each month (which neednot be a calendar month) or other regular period agreed upon, the schedule orrate by which the service charge will be computed, and that the buyer may atany time pay the total unpaid balance. If this information is given orally, theseller shall, upon approval of the buyer’s credit, deliver to the buyer or mailto the buyer at the address of the buyer, a memorandum setting forth thisinformation.
(2)The seller or holder of a retail charge agreement shall promptly supply thebuyer with a statement as of the end of each monthly period (which need not bea calendar month) or other regular period agreed upon, in which there is anyunpaid balance thereunder, which statement shall set forth the following:
(a)The unpaid balance under the retail charge agreement at the beginning and atthe end of the period;
(b)Unless otherwise furnished by the seller to the buyer by sales slip,memorandum, or otherwise, a description or identification of the goods orservices purchased during the period, the cash sale price and the date of eachpurchase;
(c)The payments made by the buyer to the seller and any other credits to the buyerduring the period;
(d)The amount, if any, of any service charge for such period; and