as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
A bill for an act
relating to commerce; prohibiting unreasonable blocks
on a customer's access to credit capacity on a credit
card or debit card; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325G.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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(a) For purposes of this
section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings
given them.
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(b) "Capacity" means a dollar amount of available credit in
the case of a credit card, and a dollar amount of the account
balance or overdraft capacity in the case of a debit card.
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(c) "Credit block" means an arrangement between a retailer
and an issuer, in which the issuer, at the request of a
retailer, reserves, prior to completion of a purchase, a
specified dollar amount of the customer's purchasing capacity
for use in connection with a purchase initiated by a customer
with the retailer.
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(d) "Issuer" means the entity that issued the credit card
or debit card or an entity that administers credit blocks on
behalf of the issuer.
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(e) "Retailer" means a gasoline retailer, a hotel or
similar short-term lodging facility, or a rental car company.
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(a) A gasoline
retailer must release a credit block as soon as possible after
the gasoline purchase has been completed or otherwise ended.
The credit block must in any case be released before the end of
the gasoline retailer's business day.
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(b) A gasoline retailer must not initiate a credit block
for a dollar amount that exceeds the price per gallon for the
most expensive type of gasoline sold by the retailer multiplied
by 24.
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(a) A hotel or
similar short-term lodging facility must release a credit block
as soon as possible after the customer's stay has ended and the
hotel has authorization to charge against the customer's credit
or debit card. The credit block must in any case be released
before the end of the hotel's business day.
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(b) A hotel or similar short-term lodging facility must not
initiate a credit block for an amount that exceeds the number of
days of the customer's reservation multiplied by 110 percent of
the daily rate to be charged to the customer for the room,
including all taxes.
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(a) A rental
car company must release a credit block as soon as possible
after the return of the vehicle. The credit block must in any
case be released before the end of that business day.
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(b) A rental car company must not initiate a credit card
block for a dollar amount that exceeds the number of days of the
customer's reservation multiplied by the daily rental rate being
charged to the customer, including all taxes, plus an additional
$30.
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new text begin (a) No one may bring a private
cause of action under this section unless the individual has
first in good faith attempted to correct the problem with the
party violating the section.
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(b) This section may be enforced under section 8.31,
including the private cause of action under subdivision 3a of
that section. In a private cause of action, a retailer that has
violated this section is liable to the customer for statutory
damages of $1,000, plus actual damages if any.
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This section is effective August 1, 2005.
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