SB 1379, as introduced, Huff. Credit cards.
The Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971 generally regulates credit card transactions and prohibits a retailer in any sales, service, or lease transaction with a consumer from imposing a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means. The act requires a retailer who willfully violates this prohibition to be liable to the cardholder for 3 times the amount at which actual damages are assessed, as specified.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code is amended to
2read:
(a) begin deleteNo end deletebegin insertA end insertretailer in any sales, service, or lease
4transaction with a consumerbegin delete mayend deletebegin insert shall notend insert impose a surcharge on
5a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by
6cash, check, or similar means. A retailer may, however, offer
7discounts for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or
P2 1other means not involving the use of a credit card, provided that
2the discount is offered to all
prospective buyers.
3(b) begin deleteAny end deletebegin insertA end insertretailer who willfully violates this section by imposing
4a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card and
5who fails to pay that amount to the cardholder within 30 days of
6a written demand by the cardholder to the retailer by certified mail,
7shall be liable to the cardholder for three times the amount at which
8actual damages are assessed. The cardholder shall also be entitled
9to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in the
10action.
11A cause of action under this section may be brought in small
12claims court, if it does not exceed the jurisdiction of that court, or
13in any other appropriate court.
14(c) A consumer shall not be deemed to have elected to use a
15credit card in lieu of another means of payment for purposes of
16this section in a transaction with a retailer if only credit cards are
17accepted by that retailer in payment for an order made by a
18consumer over a telephone, and only cash is accepted at a public
19store or other facility of the same retailer.
20(d) Charges for third-party credit card guarantee services, when
21added to the price charged by the retailer if cash were to be paid,
22shall be deemed surcharges for purposes of this section even if
23they are payable directly to the third party or are charged
24separately.
25(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the effective
26operation of the free market and protect consumers from deceptive
27price increases for goods and services by prohibiting credit card
28surcharges and encouraging the availability of
discounts by those
29retailers who wish to offer a lower price for goods and services
30purchased by some form of payment other than credit card.
31(f) This section does not apply to charges for payment by credit
32card or debit card that are made by an electrical, gas, or water
33corporation and approved by the Public Utilities Commission
34pursuant to Section 755 of the Public Utilities Code.
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