(a) “Deceptive trade practice” means any false, falsely disparaging, or misleading oral or written statement, visual description or other representation of any kind made in connection with the sale, lease, rental, or loan of consumer goods or services, or in the extension of consumer credit or in the collection of consumer debts, which has the capacity, tendency or effect of deceiving or misleading consumers. Deceptive trade practices include but are not limited to:
(1) representations that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, accessories, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities that they do not have; the supplier has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or if they are deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, or secondhand; or goods or services are of particular standard, quality, grade, style or model, if they are of another;
(2) the use, in any oral or written representation, of exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity as to a material fact or failure to state a material fact if such use deceives or tends to deceive;
(3) disparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representations of material facts;
(4) offering goods or services with intent not to sell them as offered;
(5) offering goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the offer discloses a limitation of quantity;
(6) making false or misleading representations of fact concerning the reasons for existence of, or amounts of price reductions, or price in comparison to prices of competitors or one's own price at a past or future time;
(7) stating that a consumer transaction involves consumer rights, remedies or obligations that it does not involve;
(8) stating that services, replacements or repairs are needed if they are not; and
(9) falsely stating the reasons for offering or supplying goods or services at sale discount prices.
(10) offering goods or services with the intent of not honoring valid coupons of manufacturers that are applicable to such goods or services.
(b) “Unconscionable trade practice” means any act or practice in connection with the sale, lease, rental or loan or in connection with the offering for sale, lease, rental or loan of any consumer goods or services, or in the extension of consumer credit, or in the collection of consumer debts which unfairly takes advantage of the lack of knowledge, ability, experience or capacity of a consumer; or results in a gross disparity between the value received by a consumer and the price paid, to the consumer's detriment; provided, that no act or practice shall be deemed unconscionable under this chapter unless declared unconscionable and described with reasonable particularity in the laws of the United States Virgin Islands, or in a rule or regulation promulgated by the Director of the Consumer Services Administration. In promoting such rules and regulations, the Director shall consider among other factors:
(1) knowledge by merchants engaged in the act or practice of the inability of consumers to receive properly anticipated benefits from the goods or services involved;
(2) gross disparity between the price of goods or services and their value measured by the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtained by other consumers;
(3) the fact that the acts or practices may enable merchants to take advantage of the inability of consumers reasonably to protect their interests by reason of physical or mental infirmities, illiteracy or inability to understand the language of the agreement, ignorance or lack of education, or similar factors;
(4) the degree to which terms of the transaction require consumers to waive legal rights;
(5) the degree to which terms of the transaction require consumers to jeopardize money or property beyond the money or property immediately at issue in the transaction; and
(6) definitions of unconscionability in the laws, rules and regulations, and decisions of the courts of the United States Virgin Islands.
(c) “Consumer goods, services, credit and debts” as used in sections 101, 102(a) and 102(b) of this chapter, means goods, services, credit and debts which are primarily for personal, household or family purposes.
(d) “Consumer” means a purchaser or lessee or prospective purchaser or lessee of consumer goods or services or consumer credit, including a co-obligor or surety.
(e) “Merchant” means a seller, lessor, creditor or any other person who makes available either directly or indirectly, goods, services or credit, to consumers. “Merchant” shall include manufacturers, wholesalers and others who are responsible for any act or practice prohibited by this chapter.
(f) “Director” means the Director of the Consumer Services Administration.