Capítulo V. Régimen sancionatorio

The violations committed against any provision of this law, and of the Consumer and User Protection Law, as well as against administrative orders or provisions issued by the Directorate of Attention and Assistance to the Consumer, or obstruction or limitation of the due performance of its functions, shall be sanctioned, with observance of the principles of due process and the right of defense.

The Directorate of Consumer Attention and Assistance shall publish, on its website and social media on a monthly basis and in a newspaper of greatest circulation on a quarterly basis, a report that, in a manner visible and comprehensible to the public, reports on the interest rates by product and segment charged by credit card issuers; that allows the user to compare the interest rate charged on the different credit cards, highlighting those cards whose interest rate is above the average interest rate for credit cards.

Article 71 Bis is added to Decree Number 6-2003 of the Congress of the Republic, Consumer and User Protection Law, to read as follows:

“Article 71 Bis. Special Cases of Credit Card Violations. The Directorate, in addition to the other violations contained in this law, must impose sanctions on those who incur the following violations in credit card cases:

Minor Violations.

a)Failure to comply with the characteristics, conditions and terms required by the Law in the preparation of credit card contracts and extra-financings.

b)Failure to comply with the conditions and terms established in the contract.

c)Failure to verify that the applicant, the guarantor if any, or the credit card or extra-financing cardholder, as applicable, have the capacity to timely pay their obligations.

d)Failure to comply with the content or time limits of the decisions issued by the Directorate of Consumer Attention and Assistance.

e)Failure to comply in manner, form and time with the delivery of the information requested by the Directorate of Consumer Attention and Assistance.

f)Failure to comply with the conditions and terms established by law for the offering or granting of payment agreements.

g)Failure to provide credit card account statements in the time, form and manner established by law.

h)To oppress, harass or abuse a person insistently and repeatedly, in connection with the collection management of a debt.

Serious Violations:

a)Failure to make the notifications, updates, publications or communications established by law, or failure to make them at the due time.

b)Making improper charges or charges for services that were not actually agreed and rendered.

c)To market, assign or distribute, without express authorization from the cardholder, the data of the cardholders.

d)To dispose, without prior authorization from the cardholder, of their monetary or savings funds, to appropriate as payment for the debts incurred by the cardholder through the use of credit cards.

e)When any of the minor offenses previously established is committed on more than one occasion.”

Article 71 Ter. is added to Decree Number 6-2003 of the Congress of the Republic, Law for the Protection of Consumers and Users, to read as follows:

“Article 71 Ter. Sanctions. In the special cases of Credit Card violation, sanctions shall be imposed as follows:

a)Minor Violations: From fifteen to fifty-five UMAS, and public warning, which may be published in the mass media at the expense of the violator.

b)Serious Violations: From thirty-six to fifty-five UMAS and publication of the results of the investigation at the expense of the violator in a newspaper of largest circulation in the country.”

The name of Chapter II of Title VIII “Of Crimes Against Public Faith and National Patrimony” of Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Penal Code, is amended so as to read as follows:

“CHAPTER II

Section I is added immediately after the title of Chapter II of Title VIII “Of Crimes Against Public Faith and National Patrimony”, of Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Penal Code, so as to read as follows:

“SECTION I

Section II is added immediately after Article 327 “A”, title of Chapter II of Title VIII “Of the crimes Against Public Faith and National Patrimony”, of Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Penal Code, to read as follows:

“SECTION II

Article 327 “B” is added, immediately after the title of Section II “On the Falsification of Credit Cards”, to Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Penal Code, to read as follows:

“Article 327 “B”. Cloning of credit or debit card. A person who, without being duly authorized to do so, steals, copies, reproduces, records or alters the information contained in the magnetic stripe or in the electronic, optical or any other technology identification medium borne by a credit or debit card, as well as any other electronic means of payment, commits the crime of cloning a credit or debit card.

Whoever, without the consent of the person legally empowered, prints or embosses by means of any technology an instrument with characteristics similar to a credit card, or by any other means falsifies a credit or debit card, also commits this crime.

The person liable for this crime shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of one hundred fifty thousand (Q.150,000.00) to five hundred thousand quetzales (Q.500,000.00).”.

Article 327 “C” is added to Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Penal Code, to read as follows:

“Article 327 “C”. Illegal credit or debit card use. Whoever uses in any manner a credit or debit card, or any electronic means of payment, that has been reproduced, copied, recorded, illegally altered, or falsified in any manner, commits the crime of illegal credit or debit card use.

The person liable for this crime shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of five to eight years of imprisonment and a fine of fifty thousand (Q.50,000.00) to one hundred fifty thousand quetzales (Q.150,000.00).”.

Article 327 “D”. Distribution and commercialization of illegal credit or debit card. Commits the crime of distribution and commercialization of illegal credit or debit card, whoever distributes or commercializes in any manner a credit or debit card, or any electronic means of payment, that has been reproduced, copied, recorded, illegally altered or falsified in any manner.

The person liable for this crime shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six to eight years and a fine of one hundred thousand (Q.100,000.00) to two hundred thousand quetzales (Q.200,000.00).

Article 327 "E" is added to Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Criminal Code, to read as follows:

"Article 327 "E". Fraudulent use of credit or debit card. Whoever uses a credit or debit card, or any lawfully issued electronic means of payment that has been robbed, stolen or lost commits the crime of fraudulent use of a credit or debit card; and whoever partially or totally uses the information contained in the credit or debit card or any other electronic means of payment, without authorization from the holder.

The person liable for this crime shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of twenty-five thousand (Q.25,000.00) to fifty thousand quetzales (Q.50,000.00)."

Article 327 “F” is added to Decree 17-73 of the Congress of the Republic, Penal Code, to read as follows:

“Article 327 “F”. Aggravating circumstances. The penalties for the crimes contemplated in Articles 327 “B”, 327 “C”, 327 “D”, and 327 “E”, shall be increased by two-thirds when the person responsible is a director, manager, executive, legal representative, administrator, officer, factor, owner, employee or trusted person of the issuer, operator, or affiliate.”