PRINTER'S NO. 2780
No. 2090 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY FICHTER, BUNT, BOYD, BROWNE, CRAHALLA, DeLUCA,
GEORGE, GODSHALL, HARHAI, HARRIS, HORSEY, KOTIK, LEACH, MANN,
PERZEL, REICHLEY, SATHER, SAYLOR, SEMMEL, J. TAYLOR, THOMAS,
TIGUE, WATSON AND YOUNGBLOOD, OCTOBER 14, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, OCTOBER 14, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387),
2 entitled "An act prohibiting unfair methods of competition
3 and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of
4 any trade or commerce, giving the Attorney General and
5 District Attorneys certain powers and duties and providing
6 penalties," further providing for rescission of contracts.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 7(j) of the act of December 17, 1968
10 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and
11 Consumer Protection Law, reenacted and amended November 24, 1976
12 (P.L.1166, No.260), is amended and the section is amended by
13 adding subsections to read:
14 Section 7. Contracts; Effect of Rescission.--* * *
15 [(j) Rights afforded under this section may be waived only
16 in circumstances where the goods or services are needed to meet
17 a bona fide immediate personal emergency of the buyer and the
18 buyer furnishes the seller with a separate dated and signed
19 personal statement in the buyer's handwriting describing the
1 situation requiring immediate remedy and expressly acknowledging
2 and waiving the right to cancel the sale within three business
3 days.]
4 (j.1) Where goods or services having a sale price of twenty-
5 five dollars ($25) or more are contracted to be sold to a buyer,
6 as a result of, or in connection with, a contract made by the
7 buyer to the seller, and the goods or services contracted for
8 are needed to remedy a bona fide emergency on the buyer's real
9 property, the seller must furnish the buyer with an emergency
10 work authorization to immediately proceed with the delivery of
11 the goods or the performance of the services necessary to remedy
12 the bona fide emergency upon the waiver by the buyer of the
13 right to rescission provided in this section. The emergency work
14 authorization provided for in this section shall be on a
15 preprinted card at least four inches by six inches in size and
16 the writing thereon must be in at least ten point bold face type
17 in the following form:
18 Emergency Work Authorization
19 (Enter Date of Transaction)
20 "You, the buyer, having initiated the contract for the
21 goods and services of (enter the name of the seller), the
22 seller, for the remediation of a bona fide emergency hereby
23 authorize the seller to immediately proceed with the delivery
24 of goods or the performance of services necessary to remedy
25 the bona fide emergency. By providing the seller with this
26 authorization, you agree to make full payment for the goods
27 or services provided and you agree not to exercise the rights
28 afforded you by the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer
29 Protection Law to cancel the contract within three business
30 days from the above date.
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1 You, the buyer, attest that the attached is an accurate
2 description of the goods and services to be provided by the
3 seller for the remediation of the bona fide emergency:
4 ...........................
5 (Date)
6 ..............................
7 (Buyer's Signature)
8 (j.2) The seller shall provide the buyer with an estimate of
9 the total cost of the goods or services, in writing, including
10 any service call fee, prior to the delivery of the goods or the
11 performance of the services necessary to remedy a bona fide
12 emergency. If the cost of the goods or services will exceed the
13 estimated total cost, the seller must obtain written
14 authorization of the buyer to proceed further. Nothing in this
15 subsection shall be construed as prohibiting the seller from
16 charging the buyer a service call fee, in addition to the
17 estimated costs, for the purpose of determining the cause of and
18 the appropriate remedy of the bona fide emergency. The seller
19 shall immediately disclose whether a service call fee shall be
20 charged upon initiation by the buyer of a contract for goods or
21 services for the remediation of a bona fide emergency.
22 * * *
23 (n) As used in this section, "bona fide emergency" means any
24 condition existing on the buyer's real property which renders,
25 or has the capability to render, the real property
26 uninhabitable. The term includes, but shall not be limited to,
27 conditions significantly affecting the heating system,
28 electrical system, plumbing system, ventilation system, roof or
29 outer walls of the real property.
30 Section 2. The amendment or addition of section 7(j), (j.1)
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1 (j.2) and (n) of the act shall apply to contracts entered into
2 on or after the effective date of this act.
3 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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