2016 Indiana Code TITLE 24. TRADE REGULATION ARTICLE 7. RENTAL PURCHASE AGREEMENTS CHAPTER 7. ENFORCEMENT; ADJUSTMENT IN MAXIMUM FEES
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IC 24-7-7
Chapter 7. Enforcement; Adjustment in Maximum Fees
IC 24-7-7-1
Enforcement by department; civil penalty
Sec. 1. (a) The department shall enforce this article. To carry out
this responsibility, the department may do the following:
(1) Receive and act on complaints, take action designed to
obtain voluntary compliance with this article, or commence
proceedings on the department's own initiative.
(2) Issue and enforce administrative orders under IC 4-21.5.
(3) Counsel persons and groups on their rights and duties under
this article.
(4) Establish programs for the education of consumers with
respect to rental purchase agreement practices and problems.
(5) Make studies appropriate to effectuate the purposes and
policies of this article and make the results available to the
public.
(6) Adopt rules under IC 4-22-2, including emergency rules
under IC 4-22-2-37.1, to carry out this article.
(7) Maintain more than one (1) office within Indiana.
(8) Bring a civil action to restrain a person from violating this
article and for other appropriate relief.
(b) If the department determines, after notice and an opportunity
to be heard, that a person has violated this article, the department
may, in addition to or instead of all other remedies available under
this section, impose upon the person a civil penalty not greater than
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation.
As added by P.L.254-1987, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.1-1990,
SEC.245; P.L.138-1990, SEC.12; P.L.172-1997, SEC.12;
P.L.35-2010, SEC.91; P.L.89-2011, SEC.24.
IC 24-7-7-2
Record keeping requirements; examinations and investigations;
court order compelling compliance; confidentiality; record
retention; department's investigatory and enforcement authority;
examination of vendors
Sec. 2. (a) A person subject to this article shall make the books
and records of the person reasonably available for inspection by the
department or the department's representative. At a minimum, every
lessor shall keep a record of all payments remitted by the lessee on
a rental purchase agreement, including the following:
(1) The name of the lessee.
(2) The date of each transaction.
(3) The total amount of each payment.
(4) A breakdown of each payment reflecting:
(A) each type of charge; and
(B) the amount of each type of charge.
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The method of maintaining this data is at the discretion of the lessor,
if hard copies of the required data are readily available. The record
keeping system of the lessor shall be made available in Indiana for
examination. The director shall determine the sufficiency of the
records and whether the lessor has made the required information
reasonably available.
(b) In administering this article and in order to determine
compliance with this article, the department or the department's
representative may examine the books and records of persons subject
to the article and may make investigations of persons necessary to
determine compliance. For this purpose, the department may
administer oaths or affirmations, and, upon the department's own
motion or upon request of any party, may subpoena witnesses,
compel their attendance, compel testimony, and require the
production of any matter that is relevant to the investigation,
including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and
location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the
identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts,
or any other matter reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of
admissible evidence.
(c) If the person's records are located outside Indiana, the person
shall, at the person's option, either make them available to the
department at a convenient location in Indiana, or pay the reasonable
and necessary expenses for the department or the department's
representative to examine them at the place where they are
maintained. The department may designate representatives, including
comparable officials of the state in which the records are located, to
inspect them on the department's behalf.
(d) Upon failure without lawful excuse to obey a subpoena or to
give testimony and upon reasonable notice to all persons affected
thereby, the department may apply to a court for an order compelling
compliance.
(e) The department may not make public the name or identity of
a person whose acts or conduct the department investigates under
this section or the facts disclosed in the investigation, but this
subsection does not apply to disclosures in actions or enforcement
proceedings under this article.
(f) A lessor shall use generally accepted accounting principles and
practices in keeping books and records so that the department or the
department's representative may determine if the lessor is in
compliance with this article or a rule adopted under this article.
(g) A lessor shall keep the lessor's books and records that pertain
to a rental purchase agreement for at least two (2) years after the
rental purchase agreement has terminated.
(h) To discover violations of this article or to secure information
necessary for the enforcement of this article, the department may
investigate:
(1) any person subject to this article; and
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(2) any person that the department suspects to be operating in
violation of this article.
The department has all investigatory and enforcement authority
under this article that the department has under IC 28-11 with respect
to financial institutions. If the department conducts an investigation
under this section, the person investigated shall pay all reasonably
incurred costs of the investigation in accordance with the fee
schedule adopted under IC 28-11-3-5. Any costs required to be paid
under this section shall be paid not later than sixty (60) days after the
person receives a notice from the department of the costs being
assessed. The department may impose a fee, in an amount fixed by
the department under IC 28-11-3-5, for each day that the assessed
costs are not paid, beginning on the first day after the sixty (60) day
period described in this subsection.
(i) If a lessor contracts with an outside vendor to provide a service
that would otherwise be undertaken internally by the lessor and be
subject to the department's routine examination procedures, the
person that provides the service to the lessor shall, at the request of
the director, submit to an examination by the department. If the
director determines that an examination under this subsection is
necessary or desirable, the examination may be made at the expense
of the person to be examined. If the person to be examined under this
subsection refuses to permit the examination to be made, the director
may order any lessor that receives services from the person refusing
the examination to:
(1) discontinue receiving one (1) or more services from the
person; or
(2) otherwise cease conducting business with the person.
As added by P.L.254-1987, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.138-1990,
SEC.13; P.L.172-1997, SEC.13; P.L.35-2010, SEC.92;
P.L.137-2014, SEC.20; P.L.5-2015, SEC.55; P.L.186-2015, SEC.27.
IC 24-7-7-3
Assurance of discontinuance of misconduct
Sec. 3. If it is claimed that a person has engaged in conduct
subject to an order by the department or by a court under this
chapter, the department may accept an assurance in writing that the
person will not engage in the conduct in the future. If a person giving
an assurance of discontinuance fails to comply with its terms, the
assurance is evidence that before the assurance the person engaged
in the conduct described in the assurance.
As added by P.L.254-1987, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.172-1997,
SEC.14.
IC 24-7-7-4
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.138-1990, SEC.15.)
Indiana Code 2016
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