Legal Question in Consumer Law in Pennsylvania

I assume you are referring to the period in which a buyer can cancel a contract. The law in PA is set forth below. The law only applies to in-home sales or sales via telephone and gives a 3-day right of rescission. It does not apply to things like car purchases where you go to a car dealer, buy a car and then have second thoughts.

There are also statutes in some states which give a longer cancellation period for timeshare purchases.

73 P.S. � 201-7 Contracts; effect of rescission

(a) Where goods or services having a sale price of twenty-five dollars ($25) or more are sold or contracted to be sold to a buyer, as a result of, or in connection with, a contact with or call on the buyer or resident at his residence either in person or by telephone, that consumer may avoid the contract or sale by notifying, in writing, the seller within three full business days following the day on which the contract or sale was made and by returning or holding available for return to the seller, in its original condition, any merchandise received under the contract or sale. Such notice of rescission shall be effective upon depositing the same in the United States mail or upon other service which gives the seller notice of rescission.

(b) At the time of the sale or contract the buyer shall be provided with:

(1) A fully completed receipt or copy of any contract pertaining to such sale, which is in the same language (Spanish, English, etc.) as that principally used in the oral sales presentation, and also in English, and which shows the date of the transaction and contains the name and address of the seller, and in immediate proximity to the space reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer or on the front page of the receipt if a contract is not used and in bold face type of a minimum size of ten points, a statement in substantially the following form:

�You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. See the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this right.�

(2) A completed form in duplicate, captioned �Notice of Cancellation,� which shall be attached to the contract or receipt and easily detachable, and which shall contain in ten-point bold face type the following information and statements in the same language (Spanish, English, etc.) as that used in the contract:

Notice of Cancellation

(Enter Date of Transaction)

You may cancel this transaction, without any penalty or obligation, within three business days from the above date.

If you cancel, any property traded in, any payments made by you under the contract or sale, and any negotiable instrument executed by you will be returned within ten business days following receipt by the seller of your cancellation notice, and any security interest arising out of the transaction will be cancelled.

If you cancel, you must make available to the seller at your residence in substantially as good condition as when received, any goods delivered to you under this contract or sale; or you may, if you wish, comply with the instructions of the seller regarding the return shipment of the goods at the seller's expense and risk.

If you do make the goods available to the seller and the seller does not pick them up within twenty days of the date of your notice of cancellation, you may retain or dispose of the goods without any further obligation. If you fail to make the goods available to the seller, or if you agree to return the goods to the seller and fail to do so, then you remain liable for performance of all obligations under the contract.

To cancel this transaction, mail or deliver a signed and dated copy of this cancellation notice or any other written notice, or send a telegram, to (name of seller), at (address of seller's place of business) not later than midnight of (date).

I hereby cancel this transaction.

...................................

(Date)

...................................

Buyer's Signature

(c) Before furnishing copies of the �Notice of Cancellation� to the buyer, both copies shall be completed by entering the name of the seller, the address of the seller's place of business, the date of the transaction, and the date, not earlier than the third business day following the date of the transaction, by which the buyer may give notice of cancellation.

(d) Each buyer shall be informed at the time he signs the contract or purchases the goods or services, of his right to cancel.

(e) The cancellation period provided for in this section shall not begin to run until buyer has been informed of his right to cancel and has been provided with copies of the �Notice of Cancellation.�

(f) Seller shall not misrepresent in any manner the buyer's right to cancel.

(g) Any valid notice of cancellation by a buyer shall be honored and within ten business days after the receipt of such notice, seller shall (i) refund all payments made under the contract or sale; (ii) return any goods or property traded in, in substantially as good condition as when received by the seller; (iii) cancel and return any negotiable instrument executed by the buyer in connection with the contract or sale and take any action necessary or appropriate to terminate promptly any security interest created in the transaction.

(h) No note or other evidence of indebtedness shall be negotiated, transferred, sold or assigned by the seller to a finance company or other third party prior to midnight of the fifth business day following the day the contract was signed or the goods or services were purchased.

(i) Seller shall, within ten business days of receipt of the buyer's notice of cancellation, notify him whether the seller intends to repossess or to abandon any shipped or delivered goods. If seller elects to repossess, he must do so within twenty days of the date of buyer's notice of cancellation or forfeit all rights to the delivered goods.

(j) Deleted by 2004, Nov. 30, P.L. 1553, No. 196, � 1, effective in 60 days [Jan. 31, 2005].

(j.1) (1) Rights afforded under this section may be waived only through the execution of an emergency authorization form:

(i) where goods or services have a sale price of twenty-five dollars ($25) or more;

(ii) are contracted to be sold to a buyer as a result of or in connection with a contact made by the buyer to the seller; and

(iii) the goods or services contracted for are needed to remedy a bona fide emergency on the buyer's residential real property. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a seller contacted by a buyer as a result of a bona fide emergency from taking any immediate preliminary steps necessary to remedy a clear and immediate danger that may cause death or serious bodily injury to the buyer, the seller or other persons without having to obtain the emergency authorization form.

(2) To obtain a waiver under this section, the seller must furnish the buyer with an emergency work authorization form as well as a written estimate of the goods or the performance of services. This authorization will allow the seller to immediately proceed with the delivery of the goods or the performance of the services necessary to remedy the bona fide emergency.

(3) The emergency work authorization form provided for in this section shall be:

(i) on a preprinted card at least four inches by six inches in size; and

(ii) the writing thereon must be in at least ten-point bold face type in the following form:

Emergency Work Authorization

(Enter Date of Transaction)

You, the buyer, having initiated the contract for the goods and services of (enter the name of the seller), the seller, for the remediation of a bona fide emergency hereby authorize the seller to immediately proceed with the delivery of goods or the performance of services necessary to remedy the bona fide emergency. By providing the seller with this authorization, you agree to make full payment for the goods or services provided. You agree not to exercise the rights afforded you by the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to cancel the contract within three business days from the above date.

You, the buyer, attest that the attached estimate is an accurate description of the goods and services which will be provided by the seller for the correction of the bona fide emergency:

....................

(Date)

....................

(Buyer's Signature)

(j.2) Prior to the buyer signing the emergency authorization form, the seller shall provide the buyer with a written estimate of the total cost of the goods or services, including any fee for the service call. The estimate shall be provided prior to the delivery of the goods or the performance of the services necessary to remedy a bona fide emergency. If the cost of the goods or services actually provided exceeds the estimate provided, the seller must obtain further written authorization from the buyer to perform the additional work or service. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the seller from charging the buyer a fee for a service call for the purpose of determining the cause of and the appropriate remedy of the bona fide emergency, regardless of whether further goods or services are provided. The seller shall immediately disclose to the buyer whether a service call fee shall be charged upon initiation by the buyer of a contract for goods or services for the remediation of a bona fide emergency. The seller may also charge a fee for immediate preliminary steps without having to obtain a written emergency authorization.

(k) As used in this section, merchandise shall not be construed to mean real property.

(l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the sale or contract for the sale of goods or services having a sale price of less than twenty-five dollars ($25).

(l.1) This section shall not apply, however, to the sale of precious metals, bonds or foreign currency when the value of the items can fluctuate daily.

(m) A �Notice of Cancellation� which contains the form and content required by rule or regulation of the Federal Trade Commission shall be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.

(n) As used in this section, �bona fide emergency� means any condition existing on the buyer's residential real property which renders or has the capability to render the residential real property uninhabitable. The term includes, but shall not be limited to, conditions significantly affecting the heating system, electrical system, plumbing system, ventilation system, roof or outer walls of the residential real property.

(o) As used in this section, �immediate preliminary steps� means only those steps necessary to eliminate a clear and immediate danger that may cause death or serious bodily injury to the buyer, the seller or other persons. The term includes, but shall not be limited to, termination of the carrying of gas, oil or oil product, sewage or water through an underground pipe or the carrying of electric or communication service through an underground conductor, pipe or structure. The term shall not be construed as including any other steps necessary to repair and remedy the bona fide emergency.