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| PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1226 | PRINTER'S NO. 2413 |
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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY ARGALL, RAFFERTY, M. WHITE, FONTANA, GREENLEAF, WAUGH, VOGEL, WASHINGTON, MENSCH, BOSCOLA AND FARNESE, MAY 16, 2011 |
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| SENATOR CORMAN, APPROPRIATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Providing for automatic renewal provisions in certain service |
2 | contracts. |
3 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
4 | hereby enacts as follows: |
5 | Section 1. Short title. |
6 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Service |
7 | Contract Automatic Renewal Act. |
8 | Section 2. Definitions. |
9 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
10 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
11 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
12 | "Automatic renewal provision." A provision of a service |
13 | contract under which the service contract is renewed for a |
14 | specified period of more than one month if the renewal causes |
15 | the service contract to be in effect more than six months after |
16 | the effective date of the service contract. The renewal is | <-- |
17 | effective unless the consumer gives notice to the seller of the |
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1 | consumer’s intention to terminate the service contract. |
2 | "Consumer." An individual A person who receives service, | <-- |
3 | maintenance or repair under a service contract. The term does | <-- |
4 | not include an individual engaged in business or employed by or |
5 | otherwise acting on behalf of a governmental entity if the |
6 | individual enters into the service contract as part of or |
7 | ancillary to the individual's business activities or on behalf |
8 | of the business or governmental entity. |
9 | "Seller." A person, firm, partnership, association or | <-- |
10 | corporation engaged in commerce that sells, leases or offers to |
11 | sell or lease a service to a consumer under a service contract. |
12 | "Service contract." A written agreement for the performance |
13 | of a service over a fixed period of time or for a specified |
14 | duration. The term does not include an agreement, the terms of | <-- |
15 | which allow a consumer to cancel the agreement at any time and |
16 | to receive upon cancellation a pro rata refund of any unearned |
17 | amounts paid by the consumer. |
18 | Section 3. Service contracts with automatic renewal provisions. |
19 | (a) General rule.--A seller that enters or attempts to enter |
20 | into a service contract that includes an automatic renewal |
21 | provision, unless the consumer cancels the service contract, | <-- |
22 | shall disclose the automatic renewal provision clearly and |
23 | conspicuously in the service contract or service contract offer. |
24 | (b) Notification prior to contract cancellation.-- |
25 | (1) A seller that has entered into a service contract, | <-- |
26 | that automatically renews for a specified period of more than |
27 | one month unless the consumer cancels the contract, shall | <-- |
28 | provide the consumer with written or electronic notification, | <-- |
29 | which shall include a form of receipt confirmation, of the |
30 | automatic renewal provision. No notice shall be required | <-- |
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1 | where the consumer has canceled the service contract. |
2 | (2) The notification required under this subsection |
3 | shall be provided to the consumer not less than 30 days nor |
4 | more than 60 days before the cancellation deadline under the |
5 | automatic renewal provision. |
6 | (c) Contents of notice.--The notification required under |
7 | subsection (b) shall disclose clearly and conspicuously: |
8 | (1) That unless the consumer cancels the contract, the |
9 | contract will automatically renew. |
10 | (2) The method by which the consumer may obtain details |
11 | of the automatic renewal provision and cancellation |
12 | procedure, whether by contacting the seller at a specified |
13 | telephone number or address, by referring to the contract or |
14 | by any other method. |
15 | (d) Violations.--A seller that fails to comply with the | <-- |
16 | (d) Automatic renewal effective.--An automatic renewal | <-- |
17 | provision shall be effective, unless the consumer gives notice |
18 | to the seller of the consumer's intention to cancel the service |
19 | contract. |
20 | Section 4. Violations. |
21 | A seller that fails to comply with the requirements of this |
22 | section is in violation of this act unless the seller |
23 | demonstrates that: |
24 | (1) As as part of the seller's routine business | <-- |
25 | practice, the seller has established and implemented written |
26 | procedures to comply with this section and enforces |
27 | compliance with the procedures.; | <-- |
28 | (2) The the failure to comply is the result of an | <-- |
29 | unintentional error.; or | <-- |
30 | (3) As as part of the seller's routine business | <-- |
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1 | practice, where an unintentional error has caused the failure |
2 | to comply with this subsection, the unearned portion of the |
3 | contract subject to the automatic renewal provision is |
4 | refunded as of the date on which the seller is notified of |
5 | the error. |
6 | (e) Void provisions.--An automatic renewal provision of a | <-- |
7 | Section 5. Void provisions. | <-- |
8 | An automatic renewal provision of a service contract that is |
9 | in violation of this act, except as otherwise provided under |
10 | subsection (d) section 4, is void and unenforceable in this | <-- |
11 | Commonwealth. |
12 | Section 4 6. Enforcement. | <-- |
13 | A violation of this act shall constitute an unfair or |
14 | deceptive trade or practice for purposes of the act of December |
15 | 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices |
16 | and Consumer Protection Law, and shall be subject to the penalty |
17 | and enforcement provisions of that act. |
18 | Section 5 7. Effective date. | <-- |
19 | This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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