§ 57-12-21 (2006) - Door-to-door sales; contracts; requirements; prohibitions

A. In connection with any door-to-door sale, it constitutes an unfair or deceptive trade practice for any seller to:
(1) fail to furnish the buyer with a fully completed receipt or copy of any contract pertaining to such sale at the time of its execution that is in the same language as that principally used in the oral sales presentation and that 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) fail to furnish each buyer, at the time he signs the door-to-door sales contract or otherwise agrees to buy consumer goods or services from the seller, a completed form in duplicate, captioned "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION", that shall be attached to the contract or receipt and easily detachable and that shall contain in ten-point bold face type the following information and statements in the same language as that used in the contract:





"NOTICE OF CANCELLATION


_______________________________________________________________

date


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 canceled.


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)";
(3) fail, before furnishing copies of the notice of cancellation to the buyer, to complete both copies 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;
(4) include in any door-to-door contract or receipt any confession of judgment or any waiver of any of the rights to which the buyer is entitled under this section, including specifically his right to cancel the sale in accordance with the provisions of this section;
(5) fail to inform each buyer orally, at the time he signs the contract or purchases the goods or services, of his right to cancel;
(6) misrepresent in any manner the buyer's right to cancel;
(7) fail or refuse to honor any valid notice of cancellation by a buyer and, within ten business days after the receipt of such notice, fail to:
(a) refund all payments made under the contract or sale;
(b) return in substantially as good condition as when received by the seller any goods or property traded in; and
(c) 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;
(8) negotiate, transfer, sell or assign any notice or other evidence of indebtedness 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; and
(9) fail to notify the buyer, within ten business days of receipt of his notice of cancellation, whether the seller intends to repossess or to abandon any shipped or delivered goods.
B. The cancellation period provided for in this section as applied to telephone initiated sales shall not begin until the buyer has been informed of his right to cancel and has been provided with copies of the notice of cancellation.
C. For the purposes of this section:
(1) "business day" means 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, Christmas day, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and any other legal public holiday of the state of New Mexico or the United States;
(2) "consumer goods or services" means goods or services other than perishable goods or agricultural products 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) "door-to-door sale" means a sale, lease or rental of consumer goods or services with a purchase price of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or more, whether under single or multiple contracts, 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. A door-to-door sale includes seller initiated telephone sales. A 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;
(b) in which the consumer is accorded the right of rescission by the provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 1635, or regulations issued pursuant thereto;
(c) in which the buyer has initiated the contract 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;
(d) in which the buyer has initiated the contract 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;
(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) in which a consumer acquires the use of goods under the terms of a rental-purchase agreement made pursuant to the provisions of the Rental-Purchase Agreement Act [ 57-26-1 to 57-26-12 NMSA 1978], with an initial rental period of one week or less, by placing a telephone call to a lessor and by requesting that specific goods be delivered to the consumer's residence or such other place as the consumer directs and consummation of the rental-purchase agreement occurs after the goods are delivered;
(4) "place of business" means the main or permanent branch office or local address of a seller;
(5) "purchase price" means the total price paid or to be paid for the consumer goods or services, including all interest and service charges; and
(6) "seller" means any person, partnership, corporation or association engaged in the door-to-door sale of consumer goods or services.