(a) It is unlawful for a seller to advertise any payment, number of payments, or period of repayment for any goods, property, or services purchased through an extension of consumer credit under an open-end credit plan accepted for purchases by more than one seller unless the seller clearly and conspicuously discloses all of the following:
(1) The cash price and the amount or percentage of a downpayment, if any.
(2) The monthly or other periodic payment, the number of payments or the period of repayment, the total amount of all payments, and whether the monthly or other periodic payment is calculated on the assumption that the purchaser has no outstanding balance due under the open-end credit plan, if that is the case.
(3) The amount of the finance charge and any periodic rate that may be applied expressed as an annual percentage rate as described under subdivision (e). If the open-end credit plan provides for a variable periodic rate, that fact shall be disclosed.
(4) Any minimum, fixed, transaction, activity, or similar charge and any membership or participation fee that could be imposed.
(5) The name of the creditor, if not the seller.
(6) Whether the advertised terms are available to the purchaser only after the creditor’s approval, if that is the case.
(b) (1) A catalog or other multiple-page advertisement that gives information in a table or schedule in sufficient detail to permit determination of the disclosures required by subdivision (a) shall be considered a single advertisement if (A) the table or schedule is clearly and conspicuously set forth, and (B) any statement of the amount of any payment, the number of payments, or the period of repayment appearing anywhere else in the catalog or advertisement clearly refers to the page on which the table or schedule begins.
(2) A catalog or multiple-page advertisement complies with subdivision (a) if the table or schedule includes all appropriate disclosures for a representative scale of amounts up to the level of the more commonly sold higher-priced property or services offered.
(c) It is unlawful for a seller to advertise any payment, number of payments, or period of repayment for particular goods, property, or services purchased through an extension of consumer credit under any open-end credit plan unless the seller clearly and conspicuously discloses the cash price proximate to the advertised payment, number of payments, or period of repayment.
(d) It is unlawful for a seller to advertise terms that actually are not or will not be arranged or offered by the creditor.
(e) (1) For the purposes of this title, the terms “person,” “creditor,” “consumer credit,” “open-end credit,” “cash price,” “downpayment,” “finance charge,” “periodic rate,” and “annual percentage rate” have the same meaning as used in Regulation Z.
(2) The term “Regulation Z” shall mean any rule, regulation, or interpretation promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under the Federal Truth in Lending Act, (Public Law 90-321, as amended), and any interpretation or approval issued by an official or employee of the Federal Reserve System duly authorized by the board under the Truth in Lending Act, to issue those interpretations or approvals.
(Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 734, Sec. 1.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018