6.1-330.63 - (Repealed effective October 1, 2010) Charges by banks or savings institutions; revolving credit.
§ 6.1-330.63. (Repealed effective October 1, 2010) Charges by banks orsavings institutions; revolving credit.
A. Notwithstanding any statute or other law, any bank or savings institutionmay impose finance charges and other charges and fees at such rates and insuch amounts and manner as may be agreed by the borrower under a contract forrevolving credit or any plan which permits an obligor to avail himself of thecredit so established.
In the event of the extension of credit by a bank or savings institutionhereunder to be effected by the use of a credit card for the purchase ofmerchandise or services, no finance charge shall be imposed upon thecardholder or borrower on such extension of credit if payment in full of theunpaid balance owing for all extensions of credit under the revolving creditcontract or plan is received at the place designated by the creditor prior tothe next billing date (which shall be at least 25 days later than the priorbilling date).
B. Any application form or preapproved written solicitation for an open-endcredit card account to be used for personal, family, or household purposeswhich is mailed on or after January 1, 1988, to a consumer residing in theCommonwealth by or on behalf of a creditor, whether or not the creditor islocated in the Commonwealth, other than an application form or solicitationincluded in a magazine, newspaper, or other publication distributed bysomeone other than the creditor, shall contain or be accompanied by any ofthe following disclosures:
1. A disclosure of each of the following if applicable:
a. Any periodic rate or rates that may be applied to the account, expressedas an annual percentage rate or rates. If the account is subject to avariable rate, the creditor may instead disclose the rate as of a specificdate and indicate that the rate may vary, or identify the index and anyamount or percentage added to, or subtracted from, that index and used todetermine the rate.
b. Any membership or participation fee that may be imposed for availabilityof a credit card account.
c. Any transaction fee that may be imposed on purchases, or any other chargeor fee that may be imposed, expressed as an amount or as a percentage of thetransaction, as applicable.
d. Any grace period or free period during which the consumer may repay thefull balance reflected on a billing statement which is attributable topurchases of goods or services from the creditor or from merchantsparticipating in the credit card plan, without the imposition of additionalfinance charges. The creditor shall either disclose the number of days ofthat period, calculated from the closing date of the prior billing cycle tothe date designated in the billing statement sent to the consumer as the dateby which that payment must be received to avoid additional finance charges,or describe the manner in which the period is calculated. If the creditordoes not provide such a period for purchases, the disclosure shall soindicate;
2. A disclosure that satisfies the initial disclosure requirements ofRegulation Z; or
3. If a creditor is now or hereafter required under federal law to makedisclosures of the terms applicable to a credit card account in connectionwith application forms or solicitations, the creditor shall be deemed to havecomplied with the requirements of this subsection if the creditor complieswith the federal disclosure requirements. The disclosure of any transactionfee that may be imposed on purchases, or any other charge or fee, shall bewritten on any such application form or preapproved written solicitation.
C. Any contract or plan referred to in subsection A may be amended in anyrespect by the bank or savings institution at any time and from time to timeto modify or delete terms, or to add new terms, which new or modified termsand amendment need not be of a kind previously included in or contemplated bysuch contract or plan, or of a kind integral to the relationship of theparties, by following the procedures, if any, set forth in the contract orplan for effecting changes in the terms thereof, subject to the bank's orsavings institution's complying with any applicable notice requirements underthe Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) and regulationspromulgated thereunder, as in effect from time to time.
D. Unless the contract or plan referred to in subsection A otherwiseexpressly provides, a bank or savings institution may amend such contract orplan in any respect at any time and from time to time, whether or not theamendment or the subject of the amendment was originally contemplated oraddressed by the parties or is integral to the relationship between theparties. Without limiting the foregoing, such amendment may change terms bythe addition of new terms or by the deletion or modification of existingterms, whether relating to plan benefits or features, the periodic rate orrates used to calculate finance charges, the manner of calculating periodicrate finance charges or outstanding unpaid indebtedness, variable schedulesor formulas, finance charges other than periodic rate finance charges, othercharges or fees, collateral requirements, methods for obtaining or repayingextensions of credit, attorney's fees, plan termination, the manner foramending the terms of the contract or plan, arbitration or other alternativedispute resolution mechanisms, or other matters of any kind whatsoever.Unless the contract or plan otherwise expressly provides, any amendment may,on and after the date upon which it becomes effective as to a particularborrower, apply to all then outstanding unpaid indebtedness in the borrower'saccount under the contract or plan, including any such indebtedness thatarose prior to the effective date of the amendment. A contract or plan may beamended pursuant to this subsection regardless of whether the contract orplan is active or inactive or whether additional borrowings are availablethereunder. Any such amendment may become effective as determined by the bankor savings institution, subject to compliance by the bank or savingsinstitution with any applicable provisions under the Truth in Lending Act (15U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as ineffect from time to time. Any notice of an amendment sent by the bank orsavings institution may be included in the same envelope with a periodicstatement or as part of the periodic statement or in other materials sent tothe borrower.
E. A contract for revolving credit between a bank or savings institution andan obligor, or any plan which permits an obligor to avail himself of thecredit so established, shall be governed solely by federal law, and by thelaws of the Commonwealth of Virginia unless otherwise expressly agreed inwriting by the parties.
(1987, cc. 622, 639, 714; 1992, Sp. Sess., c. 4; 1997, c. 112; 2005, c. 670.)