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Alaska Statutes.

Title 45. Trade and Commerce

Chapter 10. Alaska Retail Installment Sales Act

Section 220. Definitions.

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AS 45.10.220. Definitions.

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,

(1) "cash sale price" means the price for which the seller would have sold or furnished to the buyer and the buyer would have bought or obtained from the seller the goods or services that are the subject matter of a retail installment transaction if the sale had been a sale for cash; the cash sale price may include taxes and charges for transferring vehicle titles, delivery, installation, servicing, repairs, alterations, or improvements;

(2) "goods" means personal chattels purchased primarily for personal, family, or household use and not for commercial or business use, but does not include money or, except as provided in the next phrase, chose in action; "goods" includes but is not limited to merchandise certificates or coupons issued by a retail seller to be used in their face amount instead of cash in exchange for goods or services sold by the seller and goods that, at the time of sale or subsequently, are to be so affixed to real property as to become a part of it, whether or not severable from it;

(3) "official fees" means the amount of the fees set by law for filing, recording, or otherwise perfecting and releasing or satisfying a retained title, lien, or other security interest created by a retail installment transaction or premiums payable for insurance in lieu of perfecting a security interest if the premiums do not exceed the fees that would otherwise normally be incurred for perfecting, filing, recording, or otherwise perfecting and releasing or satisfying a retained title, lien, or other security interest;

(4) "person" means an individual, partnership, joint venture, corporation, association, or any other group, however organized;

(5) "principal balance" means the cash sale price of the goods or services that are the subject matter of a retail installment contract less the amount of the buyer's down payment in money or goods or both, plus

(A) the amounts for insurance and official fees included in the contract if a separate identified charge is made and stated in the contract for insurance and official fees; and

(B) if the retail installment contract is for the sale of a motor vehicle, the amount, if any, that the seller agrees to pay to discharge an outstanding obligation of the buyer under an existing motor vehicle agreement, loan, installment sales contract, or lease;

(6) "rate" means the percentage which, when multiplied times the outstanding balance for each month or other installment period, yields the amount of the service charge for the month or period;

(7) "retail buyer" or "buyer" means a person who buys or agrees to buy goods or obtain services or agrees to have services rendered or furnished from a retail seller;

(8) "retail charge agreement," "revolving charge agreement," or "charge agreement" means an instrument

(A) entered into or performed in the state that sets out the terms of retail installment transactions that may be made under the agreement from time to time; and

(B) under the terms of which a service charge is to be computed from time to time in relation to the buyer's unpaid balance;

(9) "retail installment contract" or "contract" means a contract, other than a retail charge agreement or an instrument reflecting a sale price made under a retail charge agreement, entered into or performed in the state for a retail installment transaction; "retail installment contract" includes

(A) a chattel mortgage;

(B) a conditional sale contract; and

(C) a contract in the form of a bailment or a lease if the bailee or lessee contracts to pay a sum substantially equivalent to or in excess of the value of the goods sold as compensation for their use and if it is agreed that the bailee or lessee is bound to become, or for no other or a merely nominal consideration, has the option of becoming the owner of the goods upon full compliance with the provisions of the bailment or lease;

(10) "retail installment transaction" means a transaction in which a retail buyer purchases goods or services from a retail seller under a retail installment contract or a retail charge agreement that provides for a service charge under which the buyer agrees to pay the unpaid balance in one or more installments;

(11) "retail seller" or "seller" means a person engaged in the business of selling goods or services to retail buyers;

(12) "service charge," however denominated or expressed, means the amount that is paid or payable for the privilege of purchasing goods or services to be paid for by the buyer in installments over a period of time; "service charge" does not include the amount charged for insurance premiums, delinquency charges, attorney fees, court costs, or official fees;

(13) "services" means work, labor, or services of any kind purchased primarily for personal, family, or household use and not for commercial or business use, whether or not furnished in connection with the delivery, installation, servicing, repair, or improvement of goods; "services" includes repairs, alterations, or improvements upon or in connection with real property, but does not include the services of a professional person licensed by the state, or services for which the price charged is required by law to be determined or approved by or to be filed, subject to approval or disapproval, with the United States or a state or a department, division, agency, officer, or official of either as in the case of transportation services;

(14) "time balance" means the principal balance plus the service charge.