They must hand you a copy of the note and everything you signed

It is a two-rule law with a penalty, and both rules solve very common problems: walking out of a loan signing without a copy of anything, and having more savings frozen than the loan justifies.

It applies to every debt contract and to loans secured by savings accounts. The law speaks of the debtor and the parties to the contract, without limiting it to a type of creditor.

• That there be a debt contract with documents signed by the parties.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: A copy of the note, and of everything else

   The rule fits in one line and is broader than it looks: “In every debt contract the debtor must be given a copy of the promissory note and any other document signed by the parties to that contract.” It does not say only the note: it says any other signed document. If you signed five papers, you get a copy of all five.

2. 2

   Step 2: Ask for it right there, before leaving

   The law creates the duty but sets no deadline to fulfil it, and that is worth knowing: there is no number of days you can cite. The practical move is not to leave the counter without the copies, because afterwards the claim depends on proving they were not given to you.

3. 3

   Step 3: If the loan is secured by your savings

   This is the second rule and it protects money of yours that is frozen: “In the case of loans secured by savings accounts, the amount of savings pledged as that guarantee shall not exceed the loan’s outstanding balance plus accrued interest.” The words doing the work are “outstanding balance”: as you pay and the balance drops, the cap on what may stay pledged drops with it.

4. 4

   Step 4: The penalty is criminal, not administrative

   Worth knowing what kind of law this is. “Any person violating this Act commits a misdemeanor and, if convicted, shall be punished with a fine of no less than one hundred (100) dollars and no more than one thousand (1,000) dollars, or imprisonment of no more than six (6) months, or both penalties at the Court’s discretion.” It is not a fine imposed by an agency: it is a criminal sanction.

5. 5

   Step 5: Keep the copies: they are your evidence later

   The copy of the note and of what you signed is what lets you dispute a balance, check a rate or prove what you agreed to pay. Our guide on durable receipts and warranty documents explains the separate duty to preserve them, and if the problem is a collection agency chasing a debt, that has its own guide.

The law designates no agency and creates no complaint procedure: it is a short statute whose sanction is a misdemeanor, and that route goes through the court. For the administrative consumer route, the step by step is in our DACO complaint guide. If your matter is a collection agency, a credit reporting agency or a credit repair agency, each has its own.

• Leaving the counter without copies: the law sets no deadline, so the safe move is taking them that day.
• Asking only for the note: the law requires a copy of any other document signed by the parties.
• Accepting savings frozen above the balance: the cap is the outstanding amount plus accrued interest.
• Not rechecking the cap as the balance drops: “outstanding balance” means the cap falls as you pay.
• Expecting an agency to impose the fine: this Act’s sanction is criminal and goes through the court.
• Looking in this law for interest or fee rules: it provides nothing on that.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF)

  OCIF

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• DACO services

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov