I have a client that owns a small retail furniture store. He wants to offer a customer payment plan where they pay half down and the rest in...

Question

I have a client that owns a small retail furniture store. He wants to offer a customer payment plan where they pay half down and the rest in weekly installments. Does he need special licensing in the state of Georgia to be able to do that?

Answer

He needs a lawyer. If he doesn't draft proper paperwork to deal with his rights and his customers rights, federal regulations, he will get sued, probably for an enormous sum, and likely will go out of business. If he wants to do this without a lawyer, he might as well close his business now and avoid the litigation.

Answer

I agree with Attorney Ashman that the client would benefit from having a lawyer draft a promissory note and perhaps take a security interest in the furniture sold and a security agreement. These things require a lawyer if they are to be done right. It would depend on cost involved but why would he need some kind of special licensing? He is not acting like a bank.

If he is going to be in the habit of selling on credit though, he may want to have a local bank provide the financing to the customers and deal with the headaches of customers who default. In that case, he needs to approach the local bank about things and get their applications to give to customers.