A credit card issuer challenges the dismissal of two separate small claims actions for failure to comply with Iowa Code section 537.5114 (2007). The lower courts ruled that section 537.5114 requires the creditor to provide the credit card user’s entire transaction history dating back to when the account last had a zero balance. We disagree. We hold the creditor may comply with section 537.5114 in either of two ways. First, it may establish the pri-ma facie elements of an account stated cause of action. This approach does not require proof of individual transactions. Alternatively, the creditor may provide an account history, such as electronic or hard copies of past monthly account statements. In doing so, the creditor would not be completely barred from recovery if it cannot go back to a zero balance, but would be limited to recovering any increase in debt for which itemization has been provided. Because the lower courts applied an erroneous interpretation of section 537.5114, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
This appeal involves two unrelated small claims actions brought by Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. (Capital One) against credit card account holders Carolyn Kelley and Aric Denboer. On October 22, 2008, Capital One filed an original notice in Iowa County asserting Kelley had defaulted on a credit card agreement and sought damages in the amount of $4036.42. On October 27, 2008, Capital One filed an original notice in Sioux County asserting Denboer had defaulted on a credit card agreement and sought damages in the amount of $974.96. Each original petition was accompanied by (1) a notice to cure default sent to the defendant; (2) a document titled “Verification of Account[,] Identification of Judgment Debtor, and Certificate re Military Service”; (3) a document titled “Capital One Credit Card Terms and Conditions” that had a copyright of 2002; and (4) some monthly billing statements. However, there was no information as to when each defendant had opened his/her credit card account and the billing statements did not begin with an account balance of zero.
Kelley and Denboer were personally served with notice, but failed to appear. In each case, the small claims court declined to enter the requested default judgment. Instead, orders were entered stating Capital One had failed to comply with
This file comes on for entry of a default judgment. After reviewing the file, the Court determines that the Plaintiffs action is based on a consumer credit transaction as defined by Iowa Code 537.1301(11). The Plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of the ICCC as contained in Iowa Code Chapter 537 and/or Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.961 in the particulars stated below:
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_ The Plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of Iowa Code 537.5114(1). The Plaintiffs petition fails to allege the facts of the consumer’s default, the amount to which the creditor is entitled, and an indication of how that amount was determined.
_ The Plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of Iowa Code 537.5114(2). “[I]n cases governed by the ICCC, ‘no default judgment shall be entered in an action in favor of the creditor’ unless a court is provided with information sufficient to compute the amount to which the creditor claims to be entitled. The information must be included in a verified complaint or in sworn testimony.” ITT Fin. Servs. v. Zimmerman,464 N.W.2d 486 , 489 (Iowa Ct.App.1990).
In the Kelley case, both boxes were checked, indicating a failure to comply with subsections 1 and 2 of section 537.5114; in Denboer, only the second box, for subsection 2, was checked.
Capital One responded to each notice with a letter stating it did not believe it was required to produce an entire account history. In the Kelley action, Capital One said it had already filed all the billing statements it had; in Denboer, it included additional billing statements with the letter.
Capital One appealed the dismissals to the district courts. Although it argued at considerable length that it was not required to provide an accounting from a zero balance, Capital One requested in the concluding paragraph of each brief that the district court affirm the small claims court so it could appeal to the supreme court. Capital One explained:
Unfortunately, a reversal by the district court will not set precedent at the county or state level. The small claims court will be required to follow the decision in this case only, but may rule without regard to this decision in future cases. Currently, there are six other counties in Iowa which adhere to the same standard of requiring an accounting from a zero balance. In addition, there are eleven other counties which require far in excess of the last statement to obtain a default. In short, the standard for entering a default in small claims court is in a state of chaos. Cap One hopes that by bringing this issue to the state’s highest court, uniformity and clarity can be returned to the small claims system.
On February 5, 2009, the Sioux County District Court affirmed the dismissal of
Capital One applied for discretionary review of both cases, which our supreme court granted. The appeals were consolidated and transferred to this court. See Iowa Code § 631.16; Iowa R.App. P. 6.106.
Capital One’s applications for discretionary review indicate the requirements for collection of credit card debt vary considerably from county to county. Some jurisdictions appear to insist on full transaction histories, as did the lower courts here. Others apparently require only a “breakdown of principal and interest,” documentation of “last charge or payment made,” or something else. As one magistrate stated in an order that is part of our appellate record:
This Court is well aware that there are many views among Iowa Magistrates concerning what must be shown to obtain a default judgment in certain debt collection cases.
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This may be a dream but hopefully in the future there will be a ‘bright line’ established that will yield universal criteria.
II. Standard of Review.
In a discretionary review of a small claims decision, the nature of the case determines the standard of review. Small claims actions that are tried at law are reviewed for correction of errors at law. A review of statutory construction is at law. We are bound, however, by a court’s finding of fact if supported by substantial evidence.
GE Money Bank v. Morales,
III. Analysis.
A. Section 537.5114 and the ITT Financial Services Case.
Capital One’s actions against Kelley and Denboer were brought by a creditor against a consumer arising from a eonsum
1. In an action brought by a creditor against a consumer arising from a consumer credit transaction, the complaint shall allege the facts of the consumer’s default, the amount to which the creditor is entitled, and an indication of how that amount was determined.
2. No default judgment shall be entered in the action in favor of the creditor unless the complaint is verified by the creditor, or unless sworn testimony, by affidavit or otherwise, is adduced showing that the creditor is entitled to the relief demanded.
As noted, the small claims courts dismissed Capital One’s cases against Kelley and Denboer for noncompliance with this section.
In interpreting statutes, we give words their ordinary meaning within the context of the provision at issue and interpret that provision consistent with the entire statute of which it is a part. Nash Finch Co. v. City Council,
ITT Financial Services, like the present case, involved a review of a default judgment.
On appeal, we reversed. We initially noted that ITT’s complaint was “wholly devoid of the facts of the Zimmermans’ default and of any indication of how the amount, $1,180, was determined.” Id. at 489. However, we pointed out that by failing to appear, the Zimmermans had technically waived their objections to the petition itself under section 537.5114(1). Id. Regardless, that still left the question whether the default judgment complied with section 537.5114(2). On this point, we concluded that subsection (2) had to be read in tandem with subsection (1). As we explained:
The language of subsection 2, in conjunction with subsection 1, leads us to believe a court must be able to compute the amount the creditor claims it is owed. The ability to compute the amount of the debt assures the court the creditor is not taking unfair advantage of a consumer who fails to appear and defend for whatever reason, and furthers a stated purpose of the ICCC. The information included on a verified complaint, if it includes the information required by subsection 1, would allow a court to make this computation. Therefore, we believe “complaint” as used in subsection 2 must be read as a complaint meeting the requirements of subsection 1 of section 537.5114. Sworn testimony adduced at trial showing that a creditor is entitled to the relief demanded would also allow this computation. We hold, in cases governed by theICCC, “no default judgment shall be entered in an action in favor of the creditor” unless a court is provided with information sufficient to compute the amount to which the creditor claims to be entitled. The information must be included in a verified complaint or in sworn testimony.
Id.
Thus, ITT Financial Services makes clear that in an ICCC case, the creditor must provide “information sufficient to compute the amount to which the creditor claims to be entitled,” either in a verified filing with the court or in sworn testimony. Id.
As we have noted, both district courts here decided this meant the credit card company had to provide a full account history, starting with a zero balance. Capital One argues otherwise. It asserts: (1) the requirement that the court be able to compute the amount owed does not apply to efforts to collect credit card debt, as opposed to closed-end credit; (2) any such requirement is preempted by federal law; (3) section 537.5114 does not supersede the traditional account stated cause of action; and (4) in any event, section 537.5114 does not require it to produce a full account history beginning with a zero balance. Capital One argues that a verified “charge-off statement” together with a copy of the customer’s account agreement should be a sufficient basis for obtaining a default judgment. As discussed below, we disagree with Capital One’s first two arguments, but we agree in part with its third and fourth points.
B. Does ITT Financial Services Apply to Open-End Credit?
We first address Capital One’s contention that ITT Financial Services does not apply to all consumer credit transactions. Capital One points out that ITT Financial Services involved a promissory note, not a revolving credit account. With a single promissory note, according to Capital One, it is relatively easy to produce the entire account history. Not so with a credit card, where there are new extensions of credit and fluctuating fees and charges.
These observations may be true, but we are not persuaded they matter. Nothing in section 537.5114 or ITT Financial Services suggests there should be two sets of rules, one for open-end credit and another for closed-end credit. Rather, there is one rule: Information sufficient to compute the amount claimed must be provided. ITT Fin. Servs.,
C. Does Federal Preemption Apply?
Capital One next advances a series of arguments based on federal preemption.
Relatedly, Capital One argues that under Regulation Z of the Truth in Lending Act, it is only required to maintain credit card statements for two years. 12 C.F.R. § 226.25. However, there is no suggestion this law preempts more stringent record retention requirements that may arise in other contexts. See In re Shank,
In yet another attempt to play federal law as a trump card, Capital One argues that Regulation Z gives a consumer only sixty days to dispute a credit card statement. See 15 U.S.C. § 1666; 12 C.F.R. § 226.13(b). Thus, the argument goes, there is no reason to require Capital One to produce old account statements. However, Capital One’s argument is somewhat oversimplified. Federal law establishes a deadline for a cardholder to notify the credit card company of a billing error, and thereby obligate the company to investigate and resolve the matter while withholding any collection activity. However, a cardholder’s failure to exercise this right does not eliminate his or her ability to dispute the charge in a subsequent collection case. See Citibank (S.D.) N.A. v. Mincks,
D. Does the “Account Stated” Cause of Action Apply to Credit Cards?
Capital One asserts that the lower courts’ interpretation of section 537.5114 is incompatible with the traditional law of
[A]n account stated is an agreement, express or implied, between parties who have had previous transactions with each other that a final adjustment of the respective demands of each upon the other is being made as to the whole account or certain items agreed upon; it is not founded upon the original items, but upon the balance ascertained by the mutual assent of the parties.
Arthur Elevator Co. v. Grove,
Section 282 of the Second Restatement of Contracts defines an “account stated” as follows:
An account stated is a manifestation of assent by debtor and creditor to a stated sum as an accurate computation of an amount due the creditor. A party’s retention without objection for an unreasonably long time of a statement of account rendered by the other party is a manifestation of assent.
Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 282(1), at 386 (1979). Capital One contends that based on the law of “account stated,” it need only provide the court with a copy of the final monthly statement it sent to the customer, i.e., a so-called “charge-off statement,” perhaps accompanied by an affidavit that the charge-off statement is the culmination of prior monthly statements.
A number of jurisdictions have recognized the account stated cause of action with respect to credit cards. These courts generally reason that a customer’s ongoing receipt of credit card statements without objecting to them can give rise to an inference that the customer has accepted the balance shown as due. See, e.g., Credit One, L.L.C. v. Head,
Some appellate courts have reversed summary judgments entered in favor of creditors that failed to prove all these elements. Yet in doing so, they have not disavowed the account stated theory of recovery. See Ayers v. Cavalry SVP I, L.L.C.,
Courts have also recognized that the foregoing elements only constitute a prima facie case, which the customer may overcome by proving error in the account. Id. at 937.
A failure to object to an account does not, as against the party to whom it was presented, conclusively establish its character as an account stated, but merely raises a presumption to that effect, and the recipient’s conduct is open to explanation. The effect of the presumption is to shift to the defendant the burden of demonstrating how the account is incorrect.
1A C.J.S. Account Stated § 32, at 88. The Restatement clarifies that an account stated “does not itself discharge any duty but is an admission by each party of the facts asserted.” Restatement (Second) Contracts § 282(2), at 386-87; see also id. cmt. c, at 387. The doctrine of account stated does not prevent a party from proving an additional delivery or payment. Id. § 282, illus. 1, at 387. Yet proof of error requires specificity — more than just a general statement that the customer disputes some charges. See Citibank (S.D.), N.A. v. Runfola,
The Iowa appellate courts have not directly addressed the applicability of the account stated cause of action to credit card claims. But in GE Money Bank v. Morales,
We believe this outcome is also consistent with the supreme court’s decision in U.S. Bank v. Barbour,
[A]t this stage in the proceedings, it has yet to be determined on what theory the bank is seeking recovery. As the court stated in its first ruling, further discovery is need[ed] to determine the exact theory upon which the Bank seeks to recover. Rule 1.420 limits the requirement for a bill of particulars to a “pleading founded on an account.” Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.420. After the completion of discovery, it may be determined that the bank does not need a bill of particulars to proceed with its lawsuit.
Id. at 354 n. 1. In addition to open account, the bank claimed to be asserting quantum meruit and account stated theories of recovery. Id. at 352.
E. Does Section 537.5114 Abolish the Account Stated Cause of Action for Consumer Debtors?
Nevertheless, “account stated” is only a doctrine of the common law, and section 537.5114 is a statute. In the event of any conflict between the two, the statute must prevail. The general assembly may enact legislation that abolishes or changes the common law. Atwood v. Vilsack,
In Newgard ex rel. Newgard v. Bank of America,
Thus, we are left with the question: What does section 537.5114 require? In Wisconsin, the relevant statute unambiguously required the creditor, upon the written request of the customer, to submit
accurate copies to the court and the customer of writings evidencing any transaction pursuant to an open-end credit plan upon which the creditor’s claim is made and judgment may not be entered for the creditor unless the creditor does so.
See Wis. Stat. § 425.109(2) (emphasis added). Therefore, assuming the customer made a written request, as he had done in Newgard, the creditor had to provide doe-umentation of specific transactions to comply with Wisconsin law.
Iowa’s consumer credit code, however, is worded somewhat differently. It has no provision expressly requiring transactional data. Section 537.5114 demands only “an indication of how the amount [sought by the creditor] was determined” and “sworn testimony ... showing that the creditor is entitled to the relief demanded.” Accordingly, the question becomes whether section 537.5114, as interpreted in ITT Financial Services, requires Capital One to provide a full transaction history in order to obtain a default judgment against an accountholder. ITT Financial Services did not expressly decide this question, and it did not have to, because the creditor there simply submitted a verified claim for a lump sum due, without any underlying figures. Here, Capital One has filed some account statements, just not all of them. Capital One argues it only needs to provide the final account statement, i.e., the “charge-off statement.”
The attorney general, appearing as ami-cus at our invitation
Although the ICCC was based on a uniform law, i.e., the 1974 Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC), that law has been adopted in relatively few jurisdictions. However, we can draw some guidance from the drafters’ comments. According to the official commentary, section 5-114 of the UCCC, enacted in Iowa as section 537.5114, serves the following role:
Studies that have been performed of consumers who have legal action brought against them show a high rate of judgments taken by default, in excess of 90 percent in some urban areas. Modern rules of procedure that require a complaint to contain only the barest of facts contemplate contested litigation. In the event judgment is taken by default there is not enough information in the pleadings to enable the court to enter an accurate award. This section provides that the minimum amount of information necessary to compute the award shall be brought to the attention of the court.
UCCC § 5-114 cmt. The foregoing commentary suggests the drafters wanted to insure the pleadings would “enable the court to enter an accurate award” by going beyond “the barest of facts” to include “the minimum amount of information necessary to compute the award.”
Additionally, though Wisconsin did not adopt the 1974 law, part of its Consumer Act (not the language considered in New-gard) is worded somewhat similarly to the construction we gave to section 537.5114 in ITT Financial Services. Wisconsin Statutes section 425.109 reads in part as follows:
(1) A complaint by a creditor to enforce any cause of action arising from a consumer credit transaction shall include all of the following:
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(d) The actual or estimated amount of U.S. dollars or of a named foreign currency that the creditor alleges he or she is entitled to recover and the figures necessary for computation of the amount, including any amount received from the sale of any collateral.
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(3) A judgment may not be entered upon a complaint which fails to comply with this section.
(Emphasis added.) In this respect, Wisconsin’s statutory wording (“the figures necessary for computation of the amount”) is fairly close to some of the language we employed in ITT Financial Services (“information sufficient to compute the amount to which the creditor claims to be entitled”).
As of March 19, 1991, there remains due and owing by defendant to plaintiff the principal sum of $2,157.30 plus accrued interest of $1,386.27 for a total indebtedness of $3,543.57. Interest will continue to accrue after March 19, 1991[,] at the rate of $1.06 per day.
In other words, simply saying how much principal and interest the consumer owed (and the rate of accrual of interest) was not enough. However, the court implied that a detailed transaction history showing the initial purchase, subsequent finance charges, and payments would have been sufficient, had it been included in the complaint. Household Fin. Corp.,
Invoking the Household Finance Corp. case, the attorney general urges us to adopt a rule that creditors seeking to collect credit card debt must provide transaction level detail rather than just “charge-off statements.” We note also that in Asset Acquisitions Group, L.L.C. v. Gettis,
Yet the Iowa statute does not explicitly require a full itemization or a transaction history. It only requires “an indication of how [the amount claimed by the creditor] was determined,” see Iowa Code § 537.5114(1), “the minimum amount of information necessary to compute the award,” see UCCC 5-114 cmt., or “information sufficient to compute the amount to which the creditor claims to be entitled.” ITT Fin. Servs.,
The attorney general emphasizes the ICCC was enacted to protect Iowa consumers, and we agree. But consumer protection is not simply a matter of cabining what creditors can do. Some restrictions can increase the cost and reduce the availability of credit, thereby harming consumers. The drafters of the 1974 UCCC, which became the model for the ICCC, recognized this point. They wrote:
It is believed that each change or addition [in the 1974 uniform law] has merit and will provide additional protection to consumers but will not interfere with the extension of consumer credit or with legitimate practices of the great majority of creditors.
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States may decide to narrow or broaden Commission recommendations on remedies and contract provisions. But they should recognize that modifications are likely to affect the cost and availability of consumer credit.
UCCC Prefatory Note, (emphasis added).
Here, the relevant question is whether the Iowa legislature has enacted a requirement that credit card companies submit potentially hundreds of pages of past monthly statements or their equivalent before they can obtain judgments against debtors who are not contesting their alleged debts and did not contest them when they originally received the statements.
These cost-benefit considerations do not drive our interpretation of the statute, but they do show the general assembly could have reasonably concluded it was not necessary to eliminate the law of “account stated” in order to achieve a desirable level of consumer protection. When the Iowa legislature adopted the ICCC in 1975, it can be presumed to have known about the longstanding law of account stated. We do not read section 537.5114’s fairly general language — requiring the creditor to provide “an indication of how that amount [due] was determined” — as cutting off the creditor’s ability to rely upon that traditional cause of action.
Thus, we find both the account stated cause of action for collecting credit card debt and section 537.5114 can coexist. Account stated is a substantive rule of law; section 537.5114 serves a procedural purpose. A creditor that provides (1) a copy of the account agreement, (2) a final or “charge-off’ statement with the consumer’s address, (3) competent evidence that regular monthly statements were sent to the consumer at the address provided by the consumer and that the charge-off statement is the sum total of those statements, and (4) competent evidence that the consumer used the credit card and never objected to the monthly statements, has established the elements of account stated.
A creditor that provides this proof also has met the requirements of section 537.5114, assuming the judgment sought is consistent with the final account statement. By proving up an account stated cause of action, the creditor has made out a prima facie case that computation of the amount due, see Iowa Code § 537.5114, no longer requires review of the underlying monthly statements. According to the underlying substantive law, the account stated has supplanted the original items and
F. If the Account Stated Cause of Action Cannot Be Utilized, Must the Creditor Submit a Transaction History Dating Back to a Zero Balance?
If the creditor cannot establish the elements of an account stated, it may still obtain a default judgment if it can submit the monthly statements themselves, or provide a full account history in some other form. Additionally, a creditor should not be precluded from all recovery, as occurred in these cases, just because its history does not go back to when the consumer last had a zero balance. The attorney general acknowledged at oral argument, and we agree, a creditor should be able to recover any increase in debt for which a full transaction history is available. In U.S. Bank v. Barbour, the court observed that under rule 1.420, “The failure to start at a zero balance may merely define and limit the bank’s proof.”
The possible counterargument to this position is that without a zero balance baseline, it is not possible to verify whether charges appearing on later itemized statements, such as past-due fees, are proper or not. However, we do not believe section 537.5114 goes that far. It requires that the court be able to “compute” the debt, ITT Fin. Servs.,
G. Disposition of These Cases.
Procedurally, these cases were and remain small claims cases. The debt- or’s failure to appear resulted in a default. Iowa Code § 631.5(6). Default judgment, however, could not be entered absent compliance with Iowa Code section 537.5114. ITT Fin. Servs.,
In a small claims case, if the relief is “readily ascertainable,” the clerk may enter the judgment; otherwise a magistrate must determine damages. Iowa Code § 631.5(6). If the magistrate conducts a hearing to determine damages, it shall be “simple and informal.” Id. § 631.11(1); GE Money Bank,
In these cases, notwithstanding Capital One’s verified accounts, the lower courts erroneously denied any recovery, even to the extent an account history was provided and showed an increase in the amount owed. The lower courts also concluded, we believe incorrectly, that section 537.5114 requires a transaction history in all cases. For both reasons, these cases must be reversed and remanded. Given the variant interpretations of section 537.5114 in past lower court cases, we think Capital One should have an opportunity on remand to demonstrate whether it can meet the standards set forth herein.
To be clear, a creditor seeking to recover a credit card debt from a consumer must either:
(1) Meet the requirements of account stated, by providing an account agreement with the consumer, a final or “charge-off’ statement with the consumer’s address, and a sworn statement from a person with knowledge that regular monthly account statements were sent to the consumer at the address provided by the consumer, the charge-off statement is the sum total of those statements, the consumer used the credit card, and the consumer never objected to the monthly statements. If the creditor cannot prove the consumer never objected to any item, as an alternative the creditor may provide a sworn statement detailing the objections and demonstrating they were resolved without further objection by the customer, or a statement establishing that during the last 90 days before the charge-off statement (or during any longer period of time leading up to the charge-off statement), the customer used the credit card and made no objections during that time.
(2) Provide an itemization of the debt it is seeking to recover, by filing an account agreement with the customer and a transaction history ending at a recent charge-off statement, together with a sworn statement from a person with knowledge authenticating these two items. In this event, the creditor is limited to recovering any increase in debt shown on the transaction history, plus ongoing interest.16
IV. Conclusion.
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the judgments below and remand for further proceedings.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Notes
. In Kelley’s case, Capital One submitted 148 pages of billing statements with closing dates from December 16, 2001 to October 16, 2006. In Denboer’s case, Capital One filed only two billing statements with closing dates of September 15, 2007 and October 15, 2007, respectively.
. In Denboer's case, Capital One filed billing statements from May 9, 2007 (with a beginning balance of $591.90) to October 15, 2007 (with an ending balance of $864.16).
. The district court reversed the dismissal only to the extent that it had been with prejudice, instead of without prejudice.
. Although Capital One arguably consented to an adverse judgment from each district court, we do not find it has waived its right to appeal. See Hense v. G.D. Searle & Co.,
. This section states, in part:
(d) Except where made applicable by Federal law, state laws that obstruct, impair, or condition a national bank’s ability to fully exercise its Federally authorized non-real estate lending powers are not applicable to national banks.
(e) State laws that are not preempted. State laws on the following subjects are not inconsistent with the non-real estate lending powers of national banks and apply to national banks to the extent that they only incidentally affect the exercise of national banks' non-real estate lending powers:
(1) Contracts;
(2) Torts;
(3) Criminal law;
(4) Rights to collect debts;
(5) Acquisition and transfer of property;
(6) Taxation;
(7) Zoning; and
(8) Any other law the effect of which the OCC determines to be incidental to the non-real estate lending operations of national banks or otherwise consistent with the powers set out in paragraph (a) of this section.
. In Pennsylvania, there is some disagreement as to whether the doctrine of “account stated” applies to credit cards. See Target Nat'l Bank v. Kilbride, 10 Pa. D. & C.5th 489 (Pa.Com.P1.2010) (holding credit card company had failed to establish a prima facie case of account stated); American Express Centurion v. Decker, 9 Pa. D. & C.5th 299 (Pa.Com.Pl. 2009) (noting disagreement in Pennsylvania courts as to whether the account stated cause of action may be used to collect a credit card debt). Although credit cards have characteristics of an “open account,” in that the customer has an account and is regularly billed for individual items, not every "open account” becomes an "account stated.” Roger’s Backhoe Serv.,
. Note that when a creditor relies on an account stated cause of action, as opposed to claiming (mistakenly, in our view) that federal law only affords sixty days to dispute a credit card debt, the debtor retains the ability to challenge specific charges.
. We requested the attorney general to appear as an amicus curiae in this case pursuant to Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.906. The attorney general is the statutory “administrator” of the Iowa Consumer Credit Code. See Iowa Code § 537.6103. The attorney general both filed a brief and participated in oral argument. His participation was very helpful in framing the issues before us.
. The attorney general also contends the account stated cause of action should not apply to “a credit card in default.” However, he cites no case law in support of this position. Also, his argument seems to be directed at a creditor’s effort to establish an "account stated” from only a single charge-off statement without other elements of proof. As discussed below, we conclude that the creditor must provide more than just a charge-off statement to recover a credit card debt as an account stated.
. Notably, the Wisconsin statute appears to be self-executing. That is, failure to include the necessary data in the complaint is fatal to the claim, even if not raised at the time. Bank One, N.A.,
.Wisconsin’s transaction history requirement, in addition to having express authority in the statute, is more limited than the lower courts’ interpretation of Iowa Code section 537.5114 in this case. In Wisconsin, the transaction history only needs to be provided if the consumer requests it in writing. Under the lower courts’ view of section 537.5114, the transaction history must be provided even if (as here) the consumer did not even bother to appear and defend.
. As noted earlier, Capital One submitted 148 pages’ worth of statements in the Kelley case, in an unsuccessful effort to obtain a default judgment.
. As interpreted in ITT Financial Services, section 537.5114 permits the creditor to pro
. If the creditor cannot prove the customer never objected to any item, the creditor may still be able to utilize the account stated cause of action by either (a) providing the specifics of any objections and proving they were resolved without further objection by the customer or (b) proving that during the last ninety days before the charge-off statement (or any longer period of time leading up to charge-off), the customer used the credit card and made no objections.
. In GE Money Bank,
. Nothing we have said in this opinion affects the creditor’s obligation to comply with Iowa Code sections 537.5110 and .5111 (cure of default and notice of right to cure), to the extent applicable. We also reiterate that a consumer who appears and defends may challenge specific items with competent proof.