|
SECTION 1. Section 345.251,
Finance Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 345.251. DOCUMENTARY
FEE FOR CERTAIN VEHICLES.
(a) A retail seller may
charge a documentary fee for services rendered to, for, or on behalf of a
retail buyer in [preparing,] handling[,] and processing
documents relating to the sale of [, and closing a retail
installment transaction involving,] a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle,
moped, all-terrain vehicle, boat, boat motor, boat trailer, or towable
recreational vehicle.
(b) If a documentary fee is
charged under this section the fee:
(1) must be charged to cash
buyers and credit buyers;
(2) may not exceed a
reasonable amount agreed to by the retail seller and retail buyer for the
documentary services [$50]; and
(3) must be disclosed on the
buyer's order or retail installment contract as a separate itemized
charge.
(c) A preliminary work sheet
on which a sale price is computed and that is shown to the retail buyer, an
order from the buyer, or a retail installment contract must include in
reasonable proximity to the place on the document where the documentary fee
is disclosed:
(1) the amount of the fee;
and
(2) the following notice in
type that is bold-faced, capitalized, or underlined or otherwise
conspicuously set out from the surrounding written material:
"A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS
NOT AN OFFICIAL FEE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW, BUT MAY BE
CHARGED TO BUYERS FOR HANDLING DOCUMENTS [AND PERFORMING SERVICES]
RELATING TO THE [CLOSING OF A] SALE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE MAY NOT
EXCEED A REASONABLE AMOUNT AGREED TO BY THE PARTIES [$50].
THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW."
(d) A retail seller shall
post the documentary fee notice prescribed by Subsection (c) so that the
notice is clearly visible in each place where a sale of a vehicle or other
good described by Subsection (a) is finalized. If the language
primarily used in an oral sales presentation is not the same as the
language in which the retail installment contract is written, the retail
seller shall furnish to the retail buyer a written statement containing the
notice set out in Subsection (c) in the language primarily used in the oral
sales presentation.
(e) Before increasing the
maximum amount of the documentary fee the retail seller charges, a retail
seller shall provide written notice to the commissioner of the maximum
amount of the documentary fee the retail seller intends to charge. The
commissioner may review the amount of a documentary fee for
reasonableness. In determining whether a fee charged by a retail seller is
reasonable, the commissioner may consider the resources required by the
retail seller to perform the retail seller's duties under state and federal
law with respect to the handling and processing of documents relating to
the sale and financing of a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, moped,
all-terrain vehicle, boat, boat motor, boat trailer, or towable
recreational vehicle. If the commissioner determines that a documentary fee
charged is not reasonable, the commissioner may require that the
documentary fee charged be reduced or suspended.
(f) A documentary fee
charged in accordance with this section before September 1, 2013, is
considered reasonable for purposes of this section.
(g) This section does
not:
(1) create a private
right of action; or
(2) require that the
commissioner approve a specific documentary fee amount before a retail
seller charges the fee.
(h) The finance
commission may adopt rules, including rules relating to the standards for a
reasonableness determination or disclosures, necessary to enforce this
section. A rule adopted under this subsection may not require a retail
seller to submit to the commissioner for prior approval the amount of a documentary
fee that the retail seller intends to charge under this section.
(i) The commissioner has
exclusive jurisdiction to enforce this section.
No
equivalent provision.
|
SECTION 1. Section 345.251,
Finance Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(a) A retail seller may
charge a documentary fee for services rendered to, for, or on behalf of a
retail buyer in [preparing,] handling[,] and processing
documents relating to the sale of [, and closing a retail
installment transaction involving,] a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle,
moped, all-terrain vehicle, boat, boat motor, boat trailer, or towable
recreational vehicle.
(b) If a documentary fee is
charged under this section the fee:
(1) must be charged to cash
buyers and credit buyers;
(2) may not exceed a
reasonable amount agreed to by the retail seller and retail buyer for the
documentary services and may not exceed a
maximum amount set by the finance commission [$50]; and
(3) must be disclosed on the
buyer's order or retail installment contract as a separate itemized
charge.
(c) A preliminary work sheet
on which a sale price is computed and that is shown to the retail buyer, an
order from the buyer, or a retail installment contract must include in
reasonable proximity to the place on the document where the documentary fee
is disclosed:
(1) the amount of the fee;
and
(2) the following notice in
type that is bold-faced, capitalized, or underlined or otherwise
conspicuously set out from the surrounding written material:
"A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS
NOT AN OFFICIAL FEE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW, BUT MAY BE
CHARGED TO BUYERS FOR HANDLING DOCUMENTS [AND PERFORMING SERVICES]
RELATING TO THE [CLOSING OF A] SALE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE MAY NOT
EXCEED A REASONABLE AMOUNT AGREED TO BY THE PARTIES [$50].
THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW."
No
equivalent provision.
No
equivalent provision.
No
equivalent provision.
No
equivalent provision.
No
equivalent provision.
No
equivalent provision.
(e) The finance
commission may adopt rules necessary to implement and enforce this section.
|