In Fox v. Federated Department Stores, Inc. (1979) 94 Cal. App. 3d 867, retail department stores and oil companies imposed monthly charges of one to one and one-half percent on unpaid account balances. The plaintiffs, who were purchasers of goods and services, argued that such charges constituted usury and that the Unruh Act, which allowed finance charges in excess of the limit set forth in the usury laws, was unconstitutional. The Court held that the time-price doctrine and the debtor's control over the assessment of late charges established that the transaction was not usurious.