SECTION 160:45-1-2. Definitions and rules of construction

(a)   Definition. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1)   "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Department.

(2)   "Advertisement" means a commercial message in any medium that promotes, directly or indirectly, a credit transaction.

(3)   "Billing cycle" or "cycle" means the interval between the days or dates of regular periodic statements. These intervals shall be equal and no longer than a quarter of a year. An interval will be considered equal if the number of days in the cycle does not vary more than four days from the regular day or date of the periodic statement.

(4)   "Board" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

(5)   "Business day" means a day on which the creditor's offices are open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its business functions. However, for purposes of rescission under 160:45-3-13 and 160:45-5-7, and for purposes of 160:45-5-3(a)(1)(ii), 160:45-5-3(a)(2), and 160:45-9-1, the term means all calendar days except Sundays and the legal public holidays specified in 5 USC 6103(a), such as New Year's Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

(6)   "Card issuer" means a person that issues a credit card or that person's agent with respect to the card.

(7)   "Cardholder" means a natural person to whom a credit card is issued for consumer credit purposes, or a natural person who has agreed with the card issuer to pay consumer credit obligations arising from the issuance of a credit card to another natural person.

(8)   "Cash price" means the price at which a creditor, in the ordinary course of business, offers to sell for cash the property or service that is the subject of the transaction. At the creditor's option, the term may include the price of accessories, services related to the sale, service contracts and taxes and fees for license, title, and registration. The term does not include any finance charge.

(9)   "Closed-end credit" means consumer credit other than "open-end credit" as defined in this section.

(10)   "Code" means the Uniform Consumer Credit Code beginning at §1-101 of Title 14A of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(11)   "Consumer" means a cardholder or a natural person to whom consumer credit is offered or extended. However, for purposes of rescission under 160:45-3-13 and 160:45-5-7, the term also includes a natural person in whose principal dwelling a security interest is or will be retained or acquired, if that person's ownership interest in the dwelling is or will be subject to the security interest.

(12)   "Consumer credit" means credit offered or extended to a consumer primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

(13)   "Consummation" means the time that a consumer becomes contractually obligated on a credit transaction.

(14)   "Credit" means the right to defer payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment.

(15)   "Credit card" means any card, plate, coupon book, or other single credit device that may be used from time to time to obtain credit. "Charge card" means a credit card on an account for which no periodic rate is used to compute a finance charge.

(16)   "Credit sale" means a sale in which the seller is a creditor. The term includes a bailment or lease (unless terminable without penalty at any time by the consumer) under which the consumer-

(A)   Agrees to pay as compensation for use a sum substantially equivalent to, or in excess of, the total value of the property and services involved; and

(B)   Will become (or has the option to become), for no additional consideration or for nominal consideration, the owner of the property upon compliance with the agreement.

(17)   "Creditor" means:

(A)   A person

(i)   who regularly extends consumer credit 3/ that is subject to a finance charge or is payable by written agreement in more than four installments (not including a downpayment), and

(ii)   to whom the obligation is initially payable, either on the face of the note or contract, or by agreement when there is no note or contract.

(B)   For purposes of 160:45-1-4(c)(8) (Discounts) and 160:45-3-7(d) (Finance charge imposed at time of transaction), a person that honors a credit card.

(C)   For purposes of subchapter 3, any card issuer that extends either open-end credit or credit that is not subject to a finance charge and is not payable by written agreement in more than four installments.

(D)   For purposes of subchapter 3 (except for the credit and charge card disclosures contained in 160:45-3-2 and 160:45-3-7(e) and (f), the finance-charge disclosures contained in 160:45-3-4(1) and 160:45-3-5(4) through (7) and the right of rescission set forth in 160:45-3-13) and subchapter 5, any card issuer that extends closed-end credit that is subject to a finance charge or is payable by written agreement in more than four installments.

(18)   "Department" means the Oklahoma State Department of Consumer Credit.

(19)   "Downpayment" means an amount, including the value of any property used as a trade-in, paid to a seller to reduce the cash price of goods or services purchased in a credit sale transaction. A deferred portion of a downpayment may be treated as part of the downpayment if it is payable not later than the due date of the second otherwise regularly scheduled payment and is not subject to a finance charge.

(20)   "Dwelling" means a residential structure that contains one to four units, whether or not that structure is attached to real property. The term includes an individual condominium unit, cooperative unit, mobile home, and trailer, if it is used as a residence.

(21)   "Open-end credit" means consumer credit extended by a creditor under a plan in

which -

(A)   the creditor reasonably contemplates repeated transactions;

(B)   the creditor may impose a finance charge from time to time on an outstanding unpaid balance; and

(C)   the amount of credit that may be extended to the consumer during the term of the plan (up to any limit set by the creditor) is generally made available to the extent that any outstanding balance is repaid.

(22)   "Periodic rate" means a rate of finance charge that is or may be imposed by a creditor on a balance for a day, week, month, or other subdivision of a year.

(23)   "Person" means a natural person or an organization, including a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, association, cooperative, estate, trust, or government unit.

(24)   "Prepaid finance charge" means any finance charge paid separately in cash or by check before or at consummation of a transaction, or withheld from the proceeds of the credit at any time.

(25)   "Residential mortgage transaction" means a transaction in which a mortgage, deed of trust, purchase money security interest arising under an installment sales contract, or equivalent consensual security interest is created or retained in the consumer's principal dwelling to finance the acquisition or initial construction of that dwelling.

(26)   "Security interest" means an interest in property that secures performance of a consumer credit obligation and that is recognized by state or federal law. It does not include incidental interests such as interests in proceeds, accessions, additions, fixtures, insurance proceeds (whether or not the creditor is a loss payee or beneficiary), premium rebates, or interests in after-acquired property. For purposes of disclosure under 160:45-3-4 and 160:45-5-2, the term does not include an interest that arises solely by operation of law. However, for purposes of the right of rescission under 160:45-3-13 and 160:45-5-7, the term does include interests that arise solely by operation of law.

(27)   "State" means any state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession of the United States.

(b)   Rules of construction. For purposes of this chapter, the following rules of construction apply:

(1)   Where appropriate, the singular form of a word includes the plural form and plural includes singular.

(2)   Where the words "obligation" and "transaction" are used in this chapter, they refer to a consumer credit obligation or transaction, depending upon the context. Where the word "credit" is used in this chapter, it means "consumer credit" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(3)   Unless defined in this chapter, the words used have the meanings given to them by state law or contract.

(4)   Footnotes have the same legal effect as the text of the chapter.

(5)   Where the word "amount" is used in this chapter to describe disclosure requirements, it refers to a numerical number.

[Source: Amended at 17 Ok Reg 1587, eff 5-25-00; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 2361, eff 6-25-01; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 2343, eff 7-11-05; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2474, eff 7-11-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 12, eff 8-6-09 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 492, eff 2-14-10 through 7-14-10 (emergency); Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1026, eff 7-1-13]

Note

EDITOR’S NOTE: This emergency action expired without being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last effective permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-10 (after the 7-14-10 expiration of this emergency action), the text of 160:45-1-2 reverted back to the permanent text that became effective 7-11-09, as was last published in the 2009 OAC Supplement, and remained as such until amended by permanent action on 7-1-13.