Question:

Ken:
    I have a question that could be the topic of one of your email round 
tables.

If an alarm company has an existing subscriber under contract and that 
contract is about to expire or has expired, can the alarm company send the 
subscriber a new contract to sign. Can it be done by mail and if it is by mail does the 
renewal contract need to contain the 3 day right to cancel. A

Also if the renewal contract has the 3 day right to cancel and the subscriber 
mails back the contract does the clause apply and if so when does the clock 
start on the 3 days, is it from the day of signing , day of mailing or the day 
of receipt by the alarm company.

Can the alarm company refuse to honor the 3 day clause because of the renewal 
or because it was done by mail and not by a visit to the subscribers home.

Eric

Answer:
            The statute appears to exclude sales through the mail.  I have 
previously advised that you should not refer to a contract as a renewal 
contract.  The connotation for a renewal contract is that there is no addtional 
consideration.  Either comply with the automatic renewal notice requirement or get 
your subscriber to sign a new contract.  The New York law is below and please 
note the exception for the Personal Emergency Response alarms.
            
            McKinney's Personal Property Law § 426



 
§ 426. Definitions



In this article:


1. "Door-to-door sale" shall mean a sale, lease or rental of consumer goods 
or services in which the seller or his representative personally solicits the 
sale, including those in response to or following an invitation by the buyer, 
and the buyer's agreement or offer to purchase is made at a place other than 
the place of business of the seller. The term "door-to-door sale" does not 
include a transaction:


(a) made pursuant to prior negotiations in the course of a visit by the buyer 
to a retail business establishment having a fixed permanent location where 
the goods are exhibited or the services are offered for sale on a continuing 
basis; or


(b) in which the buyer has initiated the contact and the goods or services 
are needed to meet a bona fide immediate personal emergency of the buyer, and 
the buyer furnishes the seller with a separate dated and signed personal 
statement in the buyer's handwriting describing the situation requiring immediate 
remedy and expressly acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel the sale 
within three business days; or


(c) conducted and consummated entirely by mail or telephone; and without any 
other contact between the buyer and the seller or its representative, other 
than at the place of business of the seller, prior to delivery of the goods or 
performance of the services; or


(d) in which the buyer has initiated the contact and specifically requested 
the seller to visit his home for the purpose of repairing or performing 
maintenance upon the buyer's personal property. If in the course of such a visit, the 
seller sells the buyer the right to receive additional services or goods 
other than replacement parts necessarily used in performing the maintenance or in 
making the repairs, the sale of those additional goods or services would not 
fall within this exclusion; or


(e) pertaining to the sale or rental of real property, to the sale of 
insurance or to the sale of securities or commodities by a broker-dealer registered 
with the securities and exchange commission; or


(f) where the purchase price whether under single or multiple contracts, does 
not exceed twenty-five dollars and the products, goods, or merchandise 
purchased is capable of delivery at one time.


2. "Consumer goods or services" shall mean goods or services purchased, 
leased, or rented primarily for personal, family or household purposes, including 
courses of instruction or training regardless of the purpose for which they are 
taken.


3. "Seller" shall mean any person, partnership, corporation or association 
engaged in the door-to-door sale of consumer goods or services.


4. "Place of business" shall mean the main or permanent branch office or 
local address of the seller.


5. "Purchase price" shall mean the total price paid or to be paid for the 
consumer goods or services, including all interest and service charges.


6. "Business day" shall mean any calendar day except Sunday, or the following 
business holidays: New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, 
Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and 
Christmas Day.


7. (a) "Personal emergency response service" shall mean (i) the provision and 
maintenance of electronic communication equipment in the home of an 
individual which signals a monitoring agency for help when activated by the individual, 
or after a period of time if a timer mechanism has not been reset; (ii) the 
continuous monitoring of such signals by a trained operator and, in case of 
receipt of such signal, the immediate notification of such emergency response 
organizations or persons, if necessary, as the individual has previously 
specified.


(b) With respect to a "personal emergency response service" as defined in 
paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the provisions of this article shall apply to 
the purchase by a consumer of provision for such service, whether or not such 
purchase is made in a "door-to-door sale" as defined in subdivision one of 
this section, except where applying any of the provisions of this article 
conflicts with any provision of section three hundred ninety-one-l of the general 
business law, in which case the provisions of section three hundred ninety-one-l 
of the general business law shall prevail. For this purpose, the transactional 
exclusions from the definition of "door-to-door sale" contained in paragraphs 
(a) through (f) of subdivision one of this section shall not apply to the 
sale or purchase of a personal emergency response service as defined herein, and 
the term "door-to-door sale" wherever used in this article shall be deemed to 
also mean any sale, lease or rental of a personal emergency response service 
to or by a consumer.