(1) With respect to a transaction that is, gives rise to, or leads the debtor to believe will give rise to, a consumer credit transaction, if the court as a matter of law finds:

1. (a) the agreement or transaction to have been unconscionable at the time it was made, or to have been induced by unconscionable conduct, the court may refuse to enforce the agreement; or
2. (b) any term or part of the agreement or transaction to have been unconscionable at the time it was made, the court may refuse to enforce the agreement, enforce the remainder of the agreement without the unconscionable term or part, or so limit the application of any unconscionable term or part as to avoid any unconscionable result and award the consumer any actual damages he has sustained.

(4) In applying subsection (1), consideration must be given to each of the following factors, among others, as applicable:

1. (a) belief by the seller, lessor, or lender at the time a transaction is entered into that there is no reasonable probability of payment in full of the obligation by the consumer or debtor; provided, however, that the rental renewals necessary to acquire ownership in a consumer rental-purchase agreement shall not be construed to be the obligation contemplated in this code section;
2. (b) in the case of a consumer credit sale, consumer lease, or consumer rental-purchase agreement, knowledge by the seller or lessor at the time of the sale or lease of the inability of the consumer to receive substantial benefits from the property or services sold or leased;
3. (c) in the case of a consumer credit sale, consumer lease, consumer rental-purchase agreement, or consumer loan, gross disparity between the price of the property or services sold, leased, or loaned and the value of the property, services, or loan measured by the price at which similar property, services, or loans are readily obtainable in consumer credit transactions by like consumers;
4. (d) the fact that the creditor contracted for or received separate charges for insurance with respect to a consumer credit sale, consumer loan, or consumer rental-purchase agreement with the effect of making the sale or loan considered as a whole, unconscionable, including the sale of insurance where the consumer could receive no potential benefit as referenced in Section 37-4-106(1)(a);
5. (e) the fact that the seller, lessor, or lender has knowingly taken advantage of the inability of the consumer or debtor reasonably to protect his interests by reason of physical or mental infirmities, ignorance, illiteracy, inability to understand the language of the agreement, or similar factors;

6. (f) taking a nonpurchase money nonpossessory security interest in household goods defined as the following: clothing, furniture, appliances, one radio and one television, linens, china, crockery, kitchenware, and personal effects (including wedding rings) of the consumer and his or her dependents; provided, that when a purchase money consumer credit transaction is refinanced or consolidated, the security lawfully collateralizing the prior consumer credit transaction can continue to secure the new consumer credit transaction, even if the new consumer credit transaction is for a larger amount or is in other respects a nonpurchase money consumer credit transaction; and provided further, that a nonpurchase money, nonpossessory security interest may be taken in the following:

   1. (i) work of art;
   2. (ii) electronic entertainment equipment (except one television and one radio);
   3. (iii) items acquired as antiques which are over one hundred years of age;

   4. (iv) jewelry (except wedding rings).

      In construing subsection (f), the courts shall be guided by the interpretations and rulings of the federal courts and the Federal Trade Commission to the Credit Trade Regulation Rule (16 C.F.R. PART 444).

(5) In applying subsection (2), consideration shall be given to each of the following factors, among others, as applicable:

1. (a) using or threatening to use force, violence, or criminal prosecution against the consumer or members of his family, including harm to the physical person, reputation, or property of any person;

2. (b) communicating with the consumer or a member of his family at frequent intervals during a twenty-four hour period or at unusual hours or under other circumstances so that it is a reasonable inference that the primary purpose of the communication was to harass the consumer. The term 'communication' means the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium. A creditor or debt collector may not:

   1. (i) communicate with a consumer at any unusual time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, it may be assumed that a convenient time to communicate with a consumer is between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.; or
   2. (ii) communicate with a consumer who is represented by an attorney when such fact is known to the creditor or debt collector unless the attorney consents to direct communication or fails to respond within ten days to a communication;
   3. (iii) contact a consumer at his place of employment after the consumer or his employer has requested in writing that no contacts be made at such place of employment or except as may be otherwise permitted by statute or to verify the consumer's employment;
   4. (iv) communicate with anyone other than the consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the attorney of the creditor or debt collector, unless the consumer or a court of competent jurisdiction has given prior direct permission;
   5. (v) use obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader;
   6. (vi) publish a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency;
   7. (vii) cause a telephone to ring repeatedly during a twenty-four hour period or engage any person in a telephone conversation with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number;
   8. (viii) advertise for sale any debt to coerce payment of the debt;
   9. (ix) communicate with a consumer regarding a debt by postcard;
   10. (x) deposit or threaten to deposit any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument requested by the creditor prior to the date on such check or instrument;
   11. (xi) take or threaten to take any nonjudicial action to effect dispossession or disablement of property if:
   12. (aa) there is no present right to possession of the property claimed as collateral through an enforceable security interest or other ownership interest;
   13. (bb) there is no present intention to take possession of the property; or
   14. (cc) the property is exempt by law from such dispossession or disablement; or
   15. (xii) cause charges to be incurred by any person for communications to the consumer by concealment of the true purpose of the communication, such charges include, but are not limited to, collect telephone calls and telegram fees.

3. (c) using fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading representations in connection with the collection of a consumer credit transaction. Such false representations shall include:

   1. (i) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt;
   2. (ii) any services rendered or fees which may be received, unless such fees are expressly authorized by law;
   3. (iii) a claim of an individual that he is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney;
   4. (iv) any claim or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in arrest, imprisonment, garnishment, seizure, or attachment unless the remedy is legally permitted to the creditor and the claim or implication is not used for the purpose of harassment or abuse of process;
   5. (v) a claim or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other conduct to disgrace the consumer; or
   6. (vi) any written communication which simulates or appears to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any state or federal agency or court or creates a false impression as to its source;
4. (d) causing or threatening to cause injury to the consumer's reputation or economic status by disclosing information affecting the consumer's reputation for creditworthiness with knowledge or reason to know that the information is false; communicating with the consumer's employer before obtaining a final judgment against the consumer, except as permitted by statute or to verify the consumer's employment; disclosing to a person, with knowledge or reason to know that the person does not have a legitimate business need for the information, or in any way prohibited by statute, information affecting the consumer's credit or other reputation; or disclosing information concerning the existence of a debt known to be disputed by the consumer without disclosing that fact;
5. (e) engaging in conduct with knowledge that like conduct has been restrained or enjoined by a court in a civil action by the administrator against any person pursuant to the provisions on injunctions against fraudulent or unconscionable agreements or conduct (Section 37-6-111).