Bill Text: NY S07748 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts provisions relating to the lease of credit card terminals; requires disclosures; prohibits certain practices.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-10 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S07748 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S07748-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ S. 7748 A. 8593 SENATE - ASSEMBLY January 10, 2022 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. THOMAS -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to business consumer protection for point-of-sale equipment leases The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new article 2 42 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 42 4 CREDIT CARD TERMINAL LEASES 5 Section 1100. Solicitation; material misrepresentation. 6 1101. Credit card terminal; lease provisions. 7 1102. Violations. 8 § 1100. Solicitation; material misrepresentation. 1. As used in this 9 article, "credit card terminal" means physical equipment used at the 10 point of sale to accept payment by a payment card, including a credit 11 card, debit card, EBT card, prepaid card, or gift card. 12 2. A person who solicits a finance lease for the use of a credit card 13 terminal shall accurately disclose, orally and in writing: 14 (a) the nature and scope of his or her relationship to the person or 15 persons who own, lease, service, and finance the credit card terminal 16 and to the person or persons, if known, who provide services related to 17 the credit card terminal, including whether he or she is an employee, 18 independent contractor, or agent of one or more of those persons; and 19 (b) the terms of a finance lease and whether oral statements or 20 commitments he or she makes to the prospective lessee while soliciting a 21 finance lease are included in the terms of the finance lease and 22 enforceable against a party to a finance lease. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11852-04-1S. 7748 2 A. 8593 1 3. The written disclosure should be in no less than twelve point font. 2 The disclosure should be written in the primary language used to commu- 3 nicate with the prospective lessee and worded in the same or similar 4 language used by the person soliciting the finance lease. 5 § 1101. Credit card terminal; lease provisions. The following 6 provisions apply to a finance lease for the use of a credit card termi- 7 nal: 8 1. The finance lease shall be written in no less than twelve point 9 font, in the primary language used to communicate with the lessee and 10 shall be worded in the same or similar language used by the person 11 soliciting the finance lease. 12 2. The finance lease shall specify: (a) the terms; (b) the total 13 price; (c) the total monthly payment due, including any recurring month- 14 ly fees or charges; (d) any other penalties, charges, or fees and the 15 conditions under which they may be incurred; (e) whether the consumer 16 has the option to purchase the credit card terminal, and if so, the 17 purchase price and terms; (f) if the lessor does not offer the option to 18 purchase the credit card terminal, a disclaimer that the lessee may be 19 able to purchase the same or a similar credit card terminal from another 20 source; and (g) a cap on the total cost the lessee is required to pay to 21 use the credit card terminal, which shall not exceed three hundred 22 percent of the lessor's original purchase price for the credit card 23 terminal or, if the lessor is the manufacturer of the credit card termi- 24 nal, its total cost to manufacture. 25 3. (a) If the lessor of a credit card terminal or an affiliated busi- 26 ness offers to deliver services for the terminal, including credit card 27 processing services, the delivery of services shall be the subject of a 28 service agreement between the service provider and the consumer that is 29 separate from the finance lease. The service agreement shall be written 30 in no less than twelve point font, in the primary language used to 31 communicate with the lessee, shall be worded in the same or similar 32 language used by the person soliciting the service agreement and shall 33 specify: 34 (i) the terms governing the delivery of services; (ii) the total price 35 for such services; (iii) the total monthly payment due, including any 36 recurring monthly fees or charges, for the services; and (iv) any other 37 penalties, charges, or fees and the conditions under which they may be 38 incurred. 39 (b) If the lessor or its affiliated business offers a discount for 40 bundling the credit card terminal finance lease with the delivery of 41 services, the lessor shall separately state in the finance lease and the 42 service agreement that information required in subdivision two and para- 43 graph (a) of this subdivision for each bundled and unbundled package 44 offered. 45 4. The finance lease shall clearly and conspicuously identify the 46 lessor of the credit card terminal and the name, mailing address, tele- 47 phone number, e-mail address or website, and relationship to the lessor 48 of: 49 (a) the person to whom the lessee is required to make payments for the 50 credit card terminal; 51 (b) the person to whom the lessee should contact with questions or 52 problems concerning the credit card terminal; 53 (c) the person to whom the lessee should deliver the credit card 54 terminal for return or repair; and 55 (d) the sales representative or other person acting with actual or 56 apparent authority on behalf of the lessor to solicit the finance lease.S. 7748 3 A. 8593 1 5. If at any time the contact information provided to the lessee 2 changes, a notification of such change shall be provided to the lessee 3 within five business days. 4 6. (a) A lessor shall provide a copy of the executed finance lease to 5 the lessee and shall retain a written or electronic copy of such finance 6 lease and proof of delivery of the executed lease for not less than four 7 years after the lease terminates. 8 (b) A lessee shall have the right to cancel a finance lease not later 9 than forty-five days after the lessor provides a copy of the executed 10 finance lease to the lessee. 11 (c) If the lessee exercises his or her right to cancel: (i) the lessor 12 may retain any payments made by the lessee after the lessor delivered a 13 copy of the executed finance lease; and (ii) the lessor may impose a 14 reasonable cancellation fee, not to exceed the total monthly payment 15 amount specified in paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section. A 16 lessee is not required to pay a cancellation fee if there is evidence of 17 fraud or illegality. 18 7. (a) If the judicial forum chosen by the parties to the lease is a 19 forum that would not otherwise have jurisdiction over the lessee, the 20 choice is not enforceable. 21 (b) A lessor shall not collect any charge or fee for business personal 22 property tax on the credit card terminal unless the tax is actually 23 imposed. 24 § 1102. Violations. A person who violates the provisions of this arti- 25 cle shall be deemed to have committed a deceptive act or practice in 26 violation of article twenty-two-A of this chapter and shall be subject 27 to penalties as set forth in such article. 28 § 2. The attorney general is authorized to promulgate any rule or 29 regulation necessary for the implementation of this act. 30 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
