It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 6-28 of the General Laws entitled "Home Solicitation Sales" is hereby repealed in its entirety and substituting therefore is the following chapter:

{ADD 6-28-1. Short title. -- ADD} {ADD This chapter may be known and cited as the "Door to Door Sales Act." ADD}

{ADD 6-28-2. Definition of terms. -- ADD} {ADD As used in this chapter:

(a) Door to Door Sale means a sale, lease, or rental of consumer goods or services with a purchase price of $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 home other than that of the person soliciting the same, or at a place other than the regular place of business of the seller. The term "door to door sale" does not include a transaction:

(1) made pursuant to the prior negotiations made by the buyer at the seller's permanent business establishment where the goods are regularly sold; or

(2) in which the buyer has intitiated 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 expressing acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel the sale within three (3) business days; or

(3) made entirely by mail or telephone; and without any other contact between the buyer and seller or its representative prior to delivery of the goods or performance of the services; or

(4) 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 the exclusion; or

(5) pertaining to the sale or rental or real property, to the sale of insurance or to the sale of securities or commodities by a broker-dealer duly registered in the State of Rhode Island; or

(6) which involves arts and crafts sold at fairs or other locations such as shopping malls, civil centers and schools; or

(7) in which the consumer is accorded the right of recision by the provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1635, as amended form time to time) or regulations issued pursuant thereto.

(b) Consumer Goods or Services means goods or services purchases, 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.

(c) Seller means any person, partnership, corporation, or association engaged in the door-to-door sale of consumer goods or services.

(d) Place of Business means the main or permanent branch office or local address of a seller.

(e) Purchase Price means the total price paid or to be paid for the consumer goods or services, including all interest and service charges.

(f) Business Day means any calendar day, except Sunday, or any legal holiday on which regular mail deliveries are not made. ADD}

{ADD 6-28-3. Right to cancel -- Method. -- ADD} {ADD In addition to any right otherwise to revoke an offer, the buyer may cancel a door-to-door sale or lease of merchandise by posting written notice of cancellation to the seller at the address specified for notice of cancellation provided by the seller not later than midnight three (3) days following the buyer's signing the agreement, excluding Sunday and any holiday on which regular mail deliveries are not made. The notice of cancellation shall be sent by registered or certified mail. Notice of cancellation given by the buyer shall be effective if it indicates the intention on the part of the buyer not to be bound by the door-to-door sale or lease of merchandise. ADD}

{ADD 6-28-4. Notices required on agreement and at time of sale -- Cancellation -- Return of deposit -- Damages. -- ADD} {ADD (a) No agreement of the buyer in a door-to-door sale shall be effective unless it is signed ad dated by the buyer and unless it contains the following in ten-point bold face type or larger directly above the space reserved in the agreement for the signature of the buyer:

"Notice to buyer: (1) Do not sign this agreement if any of the spaces intended for the agreed terms to the extent of then available information are left blank. (2) You are entitled to a copy of this agreement at the time you sign it. (3) You may at any time pay off the full unpaid balance due under this agreement, and in so doing you may be entitled to receive a partial rebate of the finance and insurance charges. (4) The seller has no right to enter unlawfully your premises or commit any breach of the peace to repossess goods purchased under this agreement. (5) You may cancel this agreement if it has not been signed at the main office or a branch office of the seller, provided you notify the seller at his main office or branch office shown in the agreement by registered or certified mail, which shall be posted not later than midnight of the third calendar day after the day on which the buyer signs the agreement, excluding Sunday and any holiday on which regular mail deliveries are not made. See the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of the buyer's rights."

(b) The seller may select the method of providing the buyer with the duplicate notice of cancellation form set forth in Paragraph (a) of this section, provided however, that in the event of cancellation the buyer must be able to retain a complete copy of the agreement. Furthermore, if both forms are not attached to the agreement, the seller is required to alter the last sentence in the statement above to conform to the actual location of the forms.

(c) Additionally, the seller shall at the time of the sale give notice to the buyer of all the buyer's rights which substantially complies with this chapter. The notice must: (i) appear in the agreement under this conspicuous caption: "Notice of Cancellation," and (ii) read as follows:

. . . . (date of transaction) "You may cancel this transaction, without any penalty or obligation, within three (3) business days from the above date. If you cancel, your cancellation notice must state that you do not wish to be bound by the agreement and mailed by registered or certified mail not later than midnight three (3) days following the buyer's signing the agreement, excluding Sunday and any holiday on which regular mail deliveries are not made. All cancellations must be mailed to:

(insert name and address of the seller)".

(d) Whenever the agreement fails to conform to the provisions of this section and the buyer or his agent has notified the seller of his intent to cancel the agreement by registered mail, return receipt requested, the seller shall within twenty (20) days return any deposit made by the buyer. Failure to return any deposit shall enable the buyer to recover from the seller double damages in any subsequent legal proceeding. ADD}

{ADD 6-28-5. Seller's obligations on cancellation. -- ADD} {ADD (a) Within twenty (20) days after a door-to-door sale has been cancelled, the seller shall tender to the buyer any payments made by the buyer and any note or other evidence of indebtedness. Any security interest arising out of the transaction will be cancelled.

(b) If the down payment includes goods traded in, the goods shall be tendered in substantially as good condition as when received. If the seller fails to tender the goods as provided by this section, the buyer may elect to recover an amount equal to the trade-in allowance stated in the agreement.

(c) The seller may retain as a cancellation fee five percent (5%) of the cash price, five dollars ($5.00), or the amount of the cash down payment, whichever is least. If the seller fails to comply with an obligation imposed by this section, or if the buyer avoids the sale on any ground independent of his right to cancel under section 6-28-3, the seller is not entitled to retain a cancellation fee.

(d) Until the seller has complied with the obligations imposed by this section the buyer may retain possession of goods delivered to him by the seller and has a lien on the goods for any recovery to which the buyer is entitled. ADD}

{ADD 6-28-6. Statement required on note.. -- ADD} {ADD Any note or other evidence of indebtedness given by a buyer in connection with a door-to-door sale shall be dated not earlier than the date of the agreement or offer to purchase. The seller shall cause the words "Nonnegotiable consumer not" to be placed prominently thereon, and an assignee or holder of a note or other evidence of indebtedness with the words "Nonnegotiable consumer note" appearing prominently thereon shall take the note subject to the claims and defenses permitted under section 6A-3-306, irrespective of whether or not such assignee or holder qualifies as a "holder in due course" as defined in section 6A-3-302. ADD}

{ADD 6-28-7. Buyer's obligations on cancellation. -- ADD} {ADD (a) Except as provided in section 6-28-5(d), within twenty (20) days after a door-to-door sale has been cancelled by the buyer, upon demand the buyer shall tender to the seller any goods delivered by the seller pursuant to the sale, but the buyer is not obligated to tender at any place other than his or her own address. Buyer's compliance with the seller's instructions regarding the return shipment of the goods shall be at the seller's expense and risk. If the seller fails without interference from the buyer to take possession of the goods within twenty (20) days after cancellation, the goods shall become the property of the buyer without obligation to pay for them.

(b) The buyer shall take reasonable care of the goods in his possession both prior to cancellation and during the twenty-day period following. During the twenty (20) day period after cancellation, except for the buyer's duty of care, the goods are at the seller's risk.

(c) If the seller has performed any services pursuant to a door-to-door sale prior to its cancellation, the seller is entitled to no compensation except the cancellation fee provided in this chapter. If the seller's services result in the alteration of property of the buyer, the seller shall restore the property to substantially as good condition as it was at the time the services were rendered. ADD}

{ADD 6-28-8. Penalty for violation. -- ADD} {ADD Any person who violates any provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.