Question: Ray Vickers owned an automobile pawn business. When a person pawned a car, Vickers issued a standard pawn ticket and required the customer to leave the pawned vehicle at his business. Vickers required each customer to pay a "storage fee" while he kept the vehicle.
Wilfred Yazzie pawned his car at Vickers, and Vickers charged him a $30 "storage fee." Yazzie later filed suit alleging the "storage fee" was a finance charge under the Truth in Lending Act and therefore Vickers understated the annual percentage rate and the finance charge. Was the "storage fee" a finance charge?