2010 New York Code
PEP - Personal Property
Article 10 - (401 - 422) RETAIL INSTALMENT SALES ACT
402 - Provisions of retail instalment contracts and obligations.

§  402.  Provisions of retail instalment contracts and obligations. 1.
  A retail instalment  contract  or  obligation  shall  be  dated  and  in
  writing;  the  printed  portion thereof shall be in at least eight point
  type.
    2. A contract or obligation shall contain the entire agreement of  the
  parties  with  respect to the goods and services, including any promise,
  whether made in writing or orally, by the seller, made as an  inducement
  to  the  buyer to become a party to the contract or which is part of the
  contract or which is made incidental to negotiations between the  seller
  and the buyer with respect to the sale of the goods or services that are
  the  subject  of the contract, that the seller will compensate the buyer
  for referring customers or prospective customers to the seller for goods
  or services which the seller has for sale or for referring the seller to
  such customers or prospective customers. In any case in which,  pursuant
  to  the  preceding  provisions,  the  contract  contains  a  promise  to
  compensate the buyer for referring customers or prospective customers to
  the seller or the seller to such customers, the contract must contain  a
  provision  to  the  effect  that  the  amount  otherwise owing under the
  contract at any time is reduced by  the  amount  of  compensation  owing
  pursuant to such promise, and:
    (a)  Both  at the top of the contract or obligation and directly above
  the space reserved for the signature of  the  buyer,  the  words  RETAIL
  INSTALMENT CONTRACT or RETAIL INSTALMENT OBLIGATION, as the case may be,
  in at least ten point bold type; and
    (b)  Either  a  notice  in  at  least eight point bold type reading as
  follows:  NOTICE TO THE BUYER: 1. Do not sign this agreement before  you
  read  it  or  if  it  contains any blank space. 2. You are entitled to a
  completely filled in copy of this agreement. 3. Under the law, you  have
  the  right  to  pay off in advance the full amount due and under certain
  conditions to obtain a partial refund of the credit service charge or  a
  notice  in  at least eight point bold type reading as follows: NOTICE TO
  THE BUYER: 1. Do not sign this agreement before you read  it  or  if  it
  contains  any blank space. 2. You are entitled to a completely filled in
  copy of this agreement. 3. Under the law, you have the right to pay  off
  in  advance the full amount due. If you do so, you may, depending on the
  nature of the credit service charge, either: (a) prepay without penalty,
  or (b) under certain circumstances obtain a rebate of the credit service
  charge.
    3. A contract or obligation shall:
    (a) Contain the names of the  seller  and  the  buyer,  the  place  of
  business  of the seller, the residence or place of business of the buyer
  as specified by the buyer and an adequate description  of  the  services
  and  goods  (including  the make and model, if any, in the case of goods
  customarily sold by make and model); and
    (b) Set forth the following items:
    (1) All items required to be disclosed by the act of congress entitled
  "Truth in Lending Act" and the regulations thereunder, as such  act  and
  regulations may from time to time be amended;
    (2)  If  any  instalment  substantially  exceeds  in  amount any prior
  instalment other than the down-payment,  contain  the  following  legend
  printed  in  ten  point  bold  type or typewritten: THIS CONTRACT IS NOT
  PAYABLE IN INSTALMENTS OF EQUAL AMOUNTS: followed, if there be  but  one
  larger  instalment,  by:  AN  INSTALMENT  OF  $..........WILL  BE DUE ON
  .........or, if there be more than one  larger  instalment,  by:  LARGER
  INSTALMENTS WILL BE DUE AS FOLLOWS.........(insert the amount or amounts
  of  every  larger  instalment and its due date.) In the case of a retail
  instalment obligation, OBLIGATION shall be substituted for  CONTRACT  in
  the  required  legend.  If the credit service charge with respect to the

contract or obligation is calculated pursuant  to  subdivision  four  of
  section  four  hundred four of this article, the disclosure provided for
  in this subparagraph may be omitted.
    4.  No  contract  or  obligation  shall be signed by the buyer when it
  contains blank spaces to be filled in after it has been signed; however,
  if delivery of the goods is not made at the time of the execution of the
  contract or obligation and it so provides, the  identifying  numbers  or
  marks  of the goods and the due date of the first instalment may be left
  blank and later inserted by the seller in the  seller's  counterpart  of
  the contract or obligation after it has been signed by the buyer.
    5.  If the cost of any credit unemployment, group credit life or other
  insurance is included in the  contract  or  obligation  and  a  separate
  charge is made to the buyer for such insurance:
    (a) The contract or obligation shall state whether the insurance is to
  be procured by the buyer or the seller;
    (b)  The  amount,  if  any,  so included for such insurance, shall not
  exceed the premiums chargeable in accordance with rate filings made with
  the superintendent of insurance for such insurance by the insurer;  and,
  if  such  group  credit life or other insurance is cancelled, the refund
  for unearned insurance premiums received or receivable by the holder  of
  the  contract,  or the excess of the amount included in the contract for
  group credit life insurance over the premiums paid  or  payable  by  the
  holder  of  the  contract  therefor,  together with, in either case, the
  unearned portion of the credit service charge applicable thereto,  shall
  be  credited  to the final maturing instalments of the retail instalment
  contract, provided that no such  credit  need  be  made  if  the  amount
  thereof would be less than one dollar; and
    (c)  If  the  insurance  is to be procured by the seller or holder, he
  shall, within thirty days after delivery of the goods or  furnishing  of
  the services under the contract or obligation, deliver, mail or cause to
  be  mailed  to the buyer, at his address as specified in the contract or
  obligation, a notice thereof or a copy of  the  policy  or  policies  of
  insurance or a certificate or certificates of the insurance so procured.
    6.  A  contract or obligation may provide for the payment by the buyer
  of a delinquency and collection charge on each instalment in default for
  a period of not less than ten days in an amount not  in  excess  of  the
  rate  provided  for  in  the  contract  or obligation on such instalment
  provided that only one such delinquency and  collection  charge  may  be
  collected  on  any such instalment regardless of the period during which
  it remains in default.
    6-a. A provision in a contract or obligation which  provides  for  the
  payment  of attorney's fees or the costs of attorney's services incurred
  in a legal action or proceeding for collection shall be null and void.
    6-b. A provision in a contract or obligation which provides for waiver
  of the right to impose any counterclaim  or  offset  arising  out  of  a
  breach  of  that  contract or obligation by the seller shall be void and
  unenforceable.
    7. All of the terms of an obligation need not be contained in a single
  document but if they are not then there shall be  an  original  document
  executed  by  the  parties containing provisions making it applicable to
  purchases of goods or services, which may not exceed a cash  sale  price
  of  one hundred seventy-five dollars on each purchase, to be made by the
  buyer from time to time from a retail seller, which  document,  together
  with  other  written  statements  relating  to the sale of such goods or
  services shall constitute  a  retail  instalment  obligation  and  shall
  contain the entire agreement of the parties. In such cases, the original
  document  shall  contain those items required to be disclosed by the act
  of  congress  entitled  "Truth  in  Lending  Act"  and  the  regulations

thereunder, as such act and regulations may from time to time be amended
  and shall further contain:
    (i) a legend as provided in paragraph (a) of subdivision two hereof,
    (ii) a notice to the buyer as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision
  two hereof,
    (iii) the names of the seller and the buyer,
    (iv) the place of business of the seller and the residence or place of
  business of the buyer as specified by the buyer,
    (v) the number of instalment payments, and
    (vi)  the  amount  or  rate of the credit service charge applicable to
  purchases thereunder.
    At the time of each purchase under such  document,  the  seller  shall
  give  the  buyer  statements  which  shall  contain at the top thereof a
  legend in at least eight-point bold type: PART OF  A  RETAIL  INSTALMENT
  OBLIGATION  and  an  adequate  description of the goods, accessories and
  services sold or furnished (including the make and model, if any, in the
  case of goods customarily sold by make  and  model)  and  shall  further
  contain  those  items  required  to  be disclosed by the act of congress
  entitled "Truth in Lending Act" and the regulations thereunder, as  such
  act and regulations may from time to time be amended. If the seller does
  not  deliver  to  the  buyer  at  the  time  of each purchase under such
  original document a statement in compliance with  the  act  of  congress
  entitled  "Truth in Lending Act" and the regulations thereunder, as such
  act and regulations may from time to time be amended, the  seller  shall
  promptly  thereafter,  and in any event within ten days from the date of
  such purchase, deliver, mail or cause to be mailed to the buyer  at  his
  address shown on the seller's records, such statement. Unless the seller
  does  so,  the  buyer  shall  have an unconditional right to cancel such
  purchase and to receive an immediate refund of  any  payments  made  and
  re-delivery  of  all  goods  traded in to the seller on account of or in
  contemplation of such purchase; upon the written request  of  the  buyer
  the  seller  shall  prove  the  accuracy  of  the  calculations  in such
  statement.
    Such statement with respect to the first such purchase shall, combined
  with the original document, constitute the obligation for such purchase;
  and, on each succeeding purchase pursuant to such original document, the
  obligation therefor as represented by such original  document  and  such
  statement  shall  constitute  a subsequent obligation under section four
  hundred ten.