Sign a contract for services at your home? You have 3 days to cancel|Betty Lin-Fisher

A few months ago, Marilyn Bradach of Rootstown emailed me for advice. 

Bradach, 85, had signed a contract with a painter to get her garage ceiling painted, along with one wall and two small rooms inside her house. She paid half down, or $850, by check. 

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After thinking about it, she and her husband decided the $1,700 charge was overpriced and wanted to cancel the contract. She knew about Ohio’s three-day right to cancel or “cooling-off” period on door-to-door sales or a sale made at a consumer’s home. She called the painter the next day. 

But the painter told her that because she had signed the contract, she had to forfeit the deposit. She cited the right to rescission, which gives consumer three business days to change their mind and cancel. He said he didn’t put the right to cancel in the contract, so he didn’t have to honor it. 

“Now that I look on the contract, I see that there is no company name and he did not sign it.  He has agreed to paint the garage ceiling and wall for the $850, which is overpriced,” wrote Bradach. 

So was the contract even valid? Can companies avoid having to comply with the state’s cooling-off period law by not including it in the contract and not signing it? 

I suggested that she reach out to the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection division for help. 

Bradach was told by the Attorney General's office that she could open a complaint and the agency would look into it. She decided to give the painter time to complete the job because she feared she would lose her $850, so she did not file a complaint.

I also inquired with the Attorney General’s media relations division. I was told the agency could not give legal advice, but the consumer should contact the agency to file a complaint. 

“In general, in the Home Solicitation Sales Act if someone comes to your house and solicits a service, the person has three days to back out of the agreement,” said Bethany McCorkle, the agency’s communications director. “There are some exceptions and requirements outlined in the Home Solicitations Sales Act. What our office provides on our website are tips to protect yourself such as read all the details included the fine print of your agreement. 

 “In any situation, our Consumer Protection Section is available to assist through our informal dispute resolution process.” 

Contact the agency at www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov or the Consumer Protection Section at 800-282-0515.

Ohio's 3-day cancellation rules

Here are the rules under the state’s three-day right to rescission or “cooling-off” statute: 

• A home solicitation is a sale of $25 or more in which the seller makes an in-person solicitation at the consumer’s home and the agreement is made at the home. It also applies to sales made outside the seller’s normal place of business, such as a fair booth or hotel meeting room. Additionally, the law applies when the seller invites an in-person solicitation (such as a flyer encouraging consumers to schedule a home visit from a roof repair company) and then makes the agreement at the consumer’s home. 
• Sellers must give consumers three business days to cancel. (The state considers Monday through Saturday as business days and Sunday and federal holidays are not.) 
• The seller must provide a written agreement and written cancellation notice. 
• The seller may not begin services until after the three-day cancellation period ends. 
• If the consumer cancels, the seller must provide a refund within 10 days. 

• Generally, cancellation periods do not take effect until the consumer receives written notification of the right to cancel. For example, if a health club sells a membership but fails to provide the consumer with written notice of the right to cancel, then the consumer’s right to cancel extends until the club provides written notice. The cancellation notice or form must comply with all requirements.

• A consumer must cancel in writing by midnight on the third business day.

There are also other contracts that have a cooling-off period. They are:  

• Credit and debt counseling services: three days 
• Prepaid entertainment contracts (such as dance lessons): three days 
• Home equity loans or mortgage refinancing: three days 
• Business opportunity plans: five days 
• Hearing aids: 30 days 
• Telemarketing sales: seven days following the date goods are received or services are agreed to, or seven days after the buyer signs a written agreement 

I think Bradach had a very good case if she had decided to file a complaint since the cancellation policy was not included in the contract. It took more than two months, but the painter recently came to the Bradach's home.

She didn’t think the job was worth the $850 she spent and still wonders if the contract was valid, but glad it’s done. 

“It’s a hard lesson learned,” Bradach said, and she wanted other readers to know of their rights. 

Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher