40-14-225 and 40-14-323), in a manner which consistently

40-14-225 and 40-14-323), in a manner which consistently understates the annual percentage rate determined according to those provisions; or  (iii) Otherwise fails to comply with any requirement of provisions of this act on disclosure and advertising (part 3) of the article on credit sales (article 2) or of the article on loans (article 3), or of any related rule of the administrator adopted pursuant to this act.

ARTICLE 6 - ADMINISTRATION

Part 1. Powers and Functions of Administrator

40-14-601. Short title.

This article shall be known and may be cited as "Uniform Consumer Credit Code-Administration."

40-14-602. Applicability.

(a) This part applies to persons who in this state:

(i) Make or solicit consumer credit sales, consumer leases or consumer loans; or

(ii) Directly collect payments from or enforce rights against debtors arising from sales, leases, or loans specified in paragraph (i) of this subsection, wherever they are made.

40-14-603. Administrator.

"Administrator" means the state banking commissioner of the state of Wyoming.

40-14-604. Powers of administrator; harmony with federal regulations; reliance on rules; duty to report and cooperate.

(a) In addition to other powers granted by this act, the administrator within the limitations provided by law may:

(i) Receive and act on complaints, take action designed to obtain voluntary compliance with this act, or commence proceedings on his own initiative;

(ii) Counsel persons and groups on their rights and duties under this act;

(iii) Establish programs for the education of consumers with respect to credit practices and problems;  (iv) Make studies appropriate to effectuate the purposes and policies of this act and make the results available to the public;

(v) Adopt, amend, and repeal substantive rules when specifically authorized by this act, and adopt, amend, and repeal procedural rules to carry out the provisions of this act;

(vi) Appoint any necessary hearing examiners, clerks, and other employees and agents and fix their compensation, and request the attorney general to appoint attorneys necessary to represent the administrator in the enforcement of this act;

(vii) Require a licensee under this act or an applicant for a license issued under this act to submit to a background investigation including fingerprint checks for state, national and international criminal history record checks as necessary. While exercising his authority under this paragraph, the administrator may utilize background checks completed by the division of criminal investigation, other government agencies in this state or in other states, the federal bureau of investigation, the registry or another entity designated by the registry;

(viii) Determine the content of application forms and the means by which an applicant applies for, renews or amends a license under this act. The administrator may allow applicants to utilize the registry or an entity designated by the registry for the processing of applications and fees.

(b) The administrator may adopt rules not inconsistent with the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act to assure a meaningful disclosure of credit terms so that a prospective debtor will be able to compare more readily the various credit terms available to him and to avoid the uninformed use of credit. These rules may contain classifications, differentiations or other provisions, and may provide for adjustments and exceptions for any class of transactions subject to this act which in the judgment of the administrator are necessary or proper to effectuate the purposes or to prevent circumvention or evasion of, or to facilitate compliance with, the provisions of this act relating to disclosure of credit terms.

(c) To keep the administrator's rules in harmony with the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act and with the rules of administrators in other jurisdictions which enact the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, the administrator, so far as is consistent with the purposes, policies and provisions of this act, may:

(i) Before adopting, amending, and repealing rules, advise and consult with administrators in other jurisdictions which enact the Uniform Consumer Credit Code; and

(ii) In adopting, amending, and repealing rules, take into consideration:

(A) The regulations so prescribed by the consumer financial protection bureau; and

(B) The rules of administrators in other jurisdictions which enact the Uniform Consumer Credit Code.

(d) Except for return of an excess charge, no liability is imposed under this act for an act done or omitted in conformity with a rule of the administrator notwithstanding that after the act or omission the rule may be amended or repealed or be determined by judicial or other authority to be invalid for any reason.

(e) The administrator shall, as required by W.S. 9-2-1014, report to the governor on the operation of his office, on the use of consumer credit in the state, and on the problems of persons of small means obtaining credit from persons regularly engaged in extending sales or loan credit. For the purpose of making the report, the administrator is authorized to conduct research and make appropriate studies. The report shall include a description of the examination and investigation procedures and policies of his office, a statement of policies followed in deciding whether to investigate or examine the offices of credit suppliers subject to this act, a statement of the number and percentages of offices which are periodically investigated or examined, a statement of the types of consumer credit problems of both creditors and debtors which have come to his attention through his examinations and investigations and the disposition of them under existing law and a general statement of the activities of his office and of others to promote the purposes of this act. The report shall not identify the creditors against whom action is taken by the administrator.

(f) Any person refusing or obstructing access to the administrator or representatives designated by the administrator to any accounts, books, records or papers, refusing to furnish any required information, or hindering a full examination or investigation of the accounts, books, records or papers, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment for a period of not more than six (6) months, or both.

(g) Any person who wrongfully fails or refuses to comply with an order of the administrator as may be provided for under this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for each day the order is not complied with.

(h) Any person failing to submit reports to the administrator as may be required under this act is subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten dollars ($10.00) per day for each day the reports are delayed beyond the stated time the reports are required to be submitted.

(j) Reports required of persons by the administrator under this act and materials relating to examinations and investigations of persons subject to this act shall be subject to the provisions of W.S. 16-4-203(d)(v) and 9-1-512, as applicable.

40-14-605. Administrative powers with respect to supervised financial organizations.

(a) With respect to supervised financial organizations, the powers of examination and investigation (W.S. 40-14-606) and administrative enforcement (W.S. 40-14-608) shall be exercised by the official or agency to whose supervision the organization is subject. All other powers of the administrator under this act may be exercised by him with respect to a supervised financial organization.

(b) If the administrator receives a complaint or other information concerning noncompliance with this act by a supervised financial organization, he shall inform the official or agency having supervisory authority over the organization concerned. The administrator may request information about supervised financial organizations from the officials or agencies supervising them.

(c) The administrator and any official or agency of this state having supervisory authority over a supervised financial organization are authorized and directed to consult and assist one another in maintaining compliance with this act. They may jointly pursue investigations, prosecute suits, and take other official action, as they deem appropriate, if either of them otherwise is empowered to take the action.

40-14-606. Examination and investigatory powers.

(a) The administrator may conduct examinations of persons licensed under this act at intervals he deems necessary to determine whether violations of this act and other applicable laws, rules and regulations pertaining to consumer credit are occurring and the frequency and seriousness of such violations.

(b) In addition to the examinations provided for in subsection (a) of this section, if the administrator has probable cause to believe that a person has engaged in an act which is subject to action by the administrator, he may make an investigation to determine if the act has been committed, and, to the extent necessary for this purpose, may administer oaths or affirmations, and, upon his own motion or upon request of any party, may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, adduce evidence, and require the production of any matter which 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 this state, the person at his option shall either make them available at a location within this state convenient to the administrator or pay the reasonable and necessary expenses for the administrator or his representative to examine them at the place where they are maintained. For the purpose of this section, the administrator shall have free and reasonable access during normal business hours to the offices, place of business and records of the person being examined or investigated. The administrator may designate representatives, including comparable officials of the state in which the records are located, to inspect them on his 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 administrator may apply to the district court for an order compelling compliance.

(e) The administrator shall not make public the name or identity of a person whose acts or conduct he investigates pursuant to this section or the facts disclosed in the investigation, but this subsection does not apply to disclosures in actions or enforcement proceedings pursuant to this act.

(f) Each licensee or person subject to examination or investigation under this act shall pay to the administrator an amount assessed by the administrator to cover the direct and indirect cost of examinations or investigations conducted pursuant to this section.

40-14-607. Applicability of Administrative Procedure Act.

Except as otherwise provided, the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act applies to and governs all administrative action taken by the administrator pursuant to this act.

40-14-608. Administrative enforcement orders.

(a) After notice and hearing the administrator may order a creditor or a person acting in his behalf to cease and desist from engaging in violations of this act. A respondent aggrieved by an order of the administrator may obtain judicial review of the order and the administrator may obtain an order of the court for enforcement of its order in the district court. The proceeding for review or enforcement is initiated by filing a petition in the court. Copies of the petition shall be served upon all parties of record.

(b) Within thirty (30) days after service of the petition for review upon the administrator, or within any further time the court may allow, the administrator shall transmit to the court the original or a certified copy of the entire record upon which the order is based, including any transcript of testimony, which need not be printed. By stipulation of all parties to the review proceeding, the record may be shortened. After hearing, the court may:

(i) Reverse or modify the order if the findings of fact of the administrator are clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record;

(ii) Grant any temporary relief or restraining order it deems just; and

(iii) Enter an order enforcing, modifying, and enforcing as modified, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the administrator, or remanding the case to the administrator for further proceedings.

(c) An objection not urged at the hearing shall not be considered by the court unless the failure to urge the objection is excused for good cause shown. A party may move the court to remand the case to the administrator in the interest of justice for the purpose of adducing additional specified and material evidence and seeking findings thereon upon good cause shown for the failure to adduce this evidence before the administrator.

(d) The jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its final judgment or decree shall be subject to review by the supreme court as provided by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of the Supreme Court [by the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure]. The administrator's copy of the testimony shall be available at reasonable times to all parties for examination without cost.

(e) A proceeding for review under this section must be initiated within thirty (30) days after a copy of the order of the administrator is received by the creditor or person acting on his behalf. If no proceeding is so initiated, the administrator may obtain a decree of the district court for enforcement of its order upon a showing that the order was issued in compliance with this section, that no proceeding for review was initiated within thirty (30) days after copy of the order was received, and that the respondent is subject to the jurisdiction of the court.

(f) With respect to unconscionable agreements or fraudulent or unconscionable conduct by the respondent, the administrator may not issue an order pursuant to this section but may bring a civil action for an injunction (W.S. 40-14-611).

40-14-609. Assurance of discontinuance.

If it is claimed that a person has engaged in conduct subject to an order by the administrator (W.S. 40-14-608) or by a court (W.S. 40-14-610 through 40-14-612), the administrator 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 prior to the assurance he engaged in the conduct described in the assurance.

40-14-610. Injunctions against violations. The administrator may bring a civil action to restrain a person from violating this act and for other appropriate relief.

40-14-611. Injunctions against unconscionable agreements and fraudulent or unconscionable conduct.

(a) The administrator may bring a civil action to restrain a creditor or a person acting in his behalf from engaging in a course of:

(i) Making or enforcing unconscionable terms or provisions of consumer credit sales, consumer leases, or consumer loans;

(ii) Fraudulent or unconscionable conduct in inducing debtors to enter into consumer credit sales, consumer leases, or consumer loans; or

(iii) Fraudulent or unconscionable conduct in the collection of debts arising from consumer credit sales, consumer leases, or consumer loans.

(b) In an action brought pursuant to this section the court may grant relief only if it finds:

(i) That the respondent has made unconscionable agreements or has engaged or is likely to engage in a course of fraudulent or unconscionable conduct;

(ii) That the agreements or conduct of the respondent has caused or is likely to cause injury to consumers; and

(iii) That the respondent has been able to cause or will be able to cause the injury primarily because the transactions involved are credit transactions.

(c) In applying this section, consideration shall be given to each of the following factors, among others:

(i) Belief by the creditor at the time consumer credit sales, consumer leases, or consumer loans are made that there was no reasonable probability of payment in full of the obligation by the debtor;

(ii) In the case of consumer credit sales or consumer leases, knowledge by the seller or lessor at the time of the sale or lease of the inability of the buyer or lessee to receive substantial benefits from the property or services sold or leased;

(iii) In the case of consumer credit sales or consumer leases, gross disparity between the price of the property or services sold or leased and the value of the property or services measured by the price at which similar property or services are readily obtainable in credit transactions by like buyers or lessees;

(iv) The fact that the creditor contracted for or received separate charges for insurance with respect to consumer credit sales or consumer loans with the effect of making the sales or loans, considered as a whole, unconscionable; and

(v) The fact that the respondent has knowingly taken advantage of the inability of the debtor reasonably to protect his interests by reason of physical or mental infirmities, ignorance, illiteracy or inability to understand the language of the agreement, or similar factors.

(d) In an action brought pursuant to this section, a charge or practice expressly permitted by this act is not in itself unconscionable.

40-14-612. Temporary relief.

With respect to an action brought to enjoin violations of the act (W.S. 40-14-610) or unconscionable agreements or fraudulent or unconscionable conduct (W.S. 40-14-611), the administrator may apply to the court for appropriate temporary relief against a respondent, pending final determination of proceedings. If the court finds after a hearing held upon notice to the respondent that there is reasonable cause to believe that the respondent is engaging in or is likely to engage in conduct sought to be restrained, it may grant any temporary relief or restraining order it deems appropriate.

40-14-613. Civil actions.

(a) After demand, the administrator may bring a civil action against a creditor for making or collecting charges in excess of those permitted by this act. An action may relate to transactions with more than one (1) debtor. If it is found that an excess charge has been made, the court shall order the respondent to refund to the debtor or debtors the amount of the excess charge. If a creditor has made an excess charge in deliberate violation of or in reckless disregard for this act, or if a creditor has refused to refund an excess charge within a reasonable time after demand by the debtor or the administrator, the court may also order the respondent to pay to the debtor or debtors a civil penalty in an amount determined by the court not in excess of the greater of either the amount of the credit service or loan finance charge or ten (10) times the amount of the excess charge. Refunds and penalties to which the debtor is entitled pursuant to this subsection may be set off against the debtor's obligation. If a debtor brings an action against a creditor to recover an excess charge or civil penalty, an action by the administrator to recover for the same excess charge or civil penalty shall be stayed while the debtor's action is pending and shall be dismissed if the debtor's action is dismissed with prejudice or results in a final judgment granting or denying the debtor's claim. With respect to excess charges arising from sales made pursuant to revolving charge accounts or from loans made pursuant to revolving loan accounts, no action pursuant to this subsection may be brought more than two (2) years after the time the excess charge was made. With respect to excess charges arising from other consumer credit sales or consumer loans, no action pursuant to this subsection may be brought more than one (1) year after the due date of the last scheduled payment of the agreement pursuant to which the charge was made. If the creditor establishes by a preponderance of evidence that a violation is unintentional or the result of a bona fide error, no liability to pay a penalty shall be imposed under this subsection.

(b) The administrator may bring a civil action against a creditor or a person acting in his behalf to recover a civil penalty for willfully violating this act, and if the court finds that the defendant has engaged in a course of repeated and willful violations of this act, it may assess a civil penalty of no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). No civil penalty pursuant to this subsection may be imposed for violations of this act occurring more than two (2) years before the action is brought or for making unconscionable agreements or engaging in a course of fraudulent or unconscionable conduct.

40-14-614. Jury trial.

In an action brought by the administrator under this act, he has no right to trial by jury.

40-14-615. Debtors' remedies not affected. The grant of powers to the administrator in this article does not affect remedies available to debtors under this act or under other principles of law or equity.

Part 1A. Resitution

40-14-616. Enforcement.

(a) The administrator, in carrying out enforcement activities under this section, in cases where an annual percentage rate or finance charge was inaccurately disclosed, shall notify the creditor of the disclosure error and is authorized, in accordance with this section, to require the creditor to make an adjustment to the account of the person to whom credit was extended, to assure that the person will not be required to pay a finance charge in excess of the finance charge actually disclosed or the dollar equivalent of the annual percentage rate actually disclosed, whichever is lower. For the purposes of this section, except where the disclosure error resulted from a willful violation which was intended to mislead the person to whom credit was extended, in determining whether a disclosure error has occurred and in calculating any adjustment:

(i) The administrator shall apply:

(A) For transactions consummated after January 1, 1977, until March 31, 1982, with respect to the annual percentage rate, a tolerance of one-quarter of one percent (.25%) more or less than the actual rate determined without regard to W.S. 40-14-225 and 40-14-323, except in the case of an irregular mortgage lending transaction consummated between January 1, 1977, and March 31, 1982, in which a tolerance of one-half of one percent (.5%) is allowed; and

(B) With respect to the finance charge, a corresponding numerical tolerance as generated by the tolerance provided under this section for the annual percentage rate, except that with respect to transactions consummated on or after April 1, 1982 the administrator shall apply:

(I) For transactions that have a scheduled amortization of ten (10) years or less with respect to the annual percentage rate, a tolerance not to exceed one-quarter of one percent (.25%) more or less than the actual rate determined without regard to W.S. 40-14-225 and 40-14-323;  (II) For transactions that have a scheduled amortization of more than ten (10) years, with respect to the annual percentage rate, only such tolerances as are allowed under W.S. 40-14-225 and 40-14-323; and

(III) For all transactions, with respect to the finance charge, a corresponding numerical tolerance as generated by the tolerances provided under this subsection for the annual percentage rate.

(b) The administrator shall require an adjustment when he determines that the disclosure error resulted from a clear and consistent pattern or practice of violations, gross negligence or a willful violation which was intended to mislead the person to whom the credit was extended. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, except where the disclosure error resulted from a willful violation which was intended to mislead the person to whom credit was extended, the administrator need not require such an adjustment if he determines that the disclosure error:

(i) Resulted from an error involving the disclosure of a fee or charge that would otherwise be excludable in computing the finance charge, including but not limited to violations involving the disclosures described in rules adopted by the administrator in which event the administrator may require such remedial action as he determines to be equitable, except that for transactions consummated on or after April 1, 1982 the adjustment shall be ordered for violations of W.S.