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From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1666i]

 
                      TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
 
                 CHAPTER 41--CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION
 
              SUBCHAPTER I--CONSUMER CREDIT COST DISCLOSURE
 
                         Part D--Credit Billing
 
Sec. 1666i. Assertion by cardholder against card issuer of 
        claims and defenses arising out of credit card transaction; 
        prerequisites; limitation on amount of claims or defenses
        

(a) Claims and defenses assertible

    Subject to the limitation contained in subsection (b) of this 
section, a card issuer who has issued a credit card to a cardholder 
pursuant to an open end consumer credit plan shall be subject to all 
claims (other than tort claims) and defenses arising out of any 
transaction in which the credit card is used as a method of payment or 
extension of credit if (1) the obligor has made a good faith attempt to 
obtain satisfactory resolution of a disagreement or problem relative to 
the transaction from the person honoring the credit card; (2) the amount 
of the initial transaction exceeds $50; and (3) the place where the 
initial transaction occurred was in the same State as the mailing 
address previously provided by the cardholder or was within 100 miles 
from such address, except that the limitations set forth in clauses (2) 
and (3) with respect to an obligor's right to assert claims and defenses 
against a card issuer shall not be applicable to any transaction in 
which the person honoring the credit card (A) is the same person as the 
card issuer, (B) is controlled by the card issuer, (C) is under direct 
or indirect common control with the card issuer, (D) is a franchised 
dealer in the card issuer's products or services, or (E) has obtained 
the order for such transaction through a mail solicitation made by or 
participated in by the card issuer in which the cardholder is solicited 
to enter into such transaction by using the credit card issued by the 
card issuer.

(b) Amount of claims and defenses assertible

    The amount of claims or defenses asserted by the cardholder may not 
exceed the amount of credit outstanding with respect to such transaction 
at the time the cardholder first notifies the card issuer or the person 
honoring the credit card of such claim or defense. For the purpose of 
determining the amount of credit outstanding in the preceding sentence, 
payments and credits to the cardholder's account are deemed to have been 
applied, in the order indicated, to the payment of: (1) late charges in 
the order of their entry to the account; (2) finance charges in order of 
their entry to the account; and (3) debits to the account other than 
those set forth above, in the order in which each debit entry to the 
account was made.

(Pub. L. 90-321, title I, Sec. 170, as added Pub. L. 93-495, title III, 
Sec. 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1515.)

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1637 of this title; title 26 
section 6311.