537.3403 Card issuer subject to claims and defenses.

1. This section neither limits the liability of nor imposes liability on a card issuer as a manufacturer, supplier, seller, or lessor of property or services sold or leased pursuant to the credit card. This section may subject a card issuer to claims and defenses of a cardholder against a seller or lessor arising from sales or leases made pursuant to the credit card.

2. A card issuer is subject to claims and defenses of a cardholder against the seller or lessor arising from the sale or lease of property or services by a seller or lessor licensed, franchised, or permitted by the card issuer or a person related to the card issuer to do business under the trade name or designation of the card issuer or a person related to the card issuer, to the extent of the original amount owing to the card issuer with respect to the sale or lease of the property or services as to which the claim or defense arose.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a card issuer, including a lender credit card issuer, is subject to all claims and defenses of a cardholder against the seller or lessor arising from the sale or lease of property or services pursuant to the credit card only if all of the following apply:

a. The original amount owing to the card issuer with respect to the sale or lease of the property or services as to which the claim or defense arose exceeds fifty dollars.

b. The residence of the cardholder and the place where the sale or lease occurred are in the same state or within one hundred miles of each other.

c. The cardholder has made a good faith attempt to obtain satisfaction from the seller or lessor with respect to the claim or defense.

4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a card issuer, including a lender credit card issuer, is subject to claims and defenses only to the extent of the amount owing to the card issuer with respect to the sale or lease of the property or services as to which the claim or defense arose at the time the card issuer has notice of the claim or defense. Notice of the claim or defense may be given prior to the attempt to obtain satisfaction specified in subsection 3. Written notice is effective when mailed or delivered.

5. For the purpose of determining the amount owing to the card issuer with respect to the sale or lease upon an open-end credit account, payments received for the account are deemed to have been first applied to the payment of finance charges in the order of their entry to the account and then to the payment of debts in the order in which the entries of the debts are made to the account.

6. Except as provided in section 537.1107, an agreement may not contain a provision to limit or waive the claims or defenses of a cardholder under this section. A provision in violation of this subsection is unenforceable.

[C75, 77, 79, 81, §537.3403]

2018 Acts, ch 1041, §127

Referred to in §537.5201

Code editor directive applied