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ACT Contractors Forms... From The Paper Side of Contracting.

Contractor Forms MUST include the 3-day Right to Cancel Home Improvement Contracts

Posted by Bill Baird on Tue, Oct 6, 2009 @ 23:10 PM

     Your contractor forms must take into account the federal contractor cancelling an agreementand state laws regarding the 3-day cancellation rights of the consumer. Known by many names such as  the "3-day cooling off period", "3-day right of rescission" or "3-day right to cancel", this requirement causes a lot of confusion among contractors. If you do home improvement work, your home improvement contract must comply with this consumer right. 

     DID YOU KNOW that it doesn't matter what state you live in, the Federal Government has ruled that ANY Home Improvement Contract signed in your customer's home must give the customer the right to cancel the contract within 3 business days after they sign FOR ANY REASON. This applies to any job whose value is $25 or more.

YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THE WORK FOR FREE!

     DID YOU KNOW that a customer who is entitled to the rights offered by the 3-day cancellation rule and who is not properly notified of these rights has THE RIGHT TO CANCEL the contract ANYTIME until 3 business days after they receive proper notification of this right???

So... You work on the job for a week. The customer wanted to cancel the contract the day after they signed but because you did not notify them that they can, they didn't think they could.  A friend tells them about the 3-day right to cancel. They call their attorney and ask him about their rights. He explains their cancellation rights and because your contract does not include the proper notifications, tells them to go ahead and cancel NOW! You have one of two choices.

  • EAT ALL YOUR EXPENSES AND COSTS ON THE JOB TO DATE
  • TRY and sue them for the money they owe you for the completed work, lose, then eat all your expenses and costs on the job PLUS PAY YOUR ATTORNEY FEES, PLUS you will probably PAY THEIR ATTORNEY FEES!

It is important to understand that the FEDERAL rule regarding the 3-day right to cancel is the MINIMUM rule that every state MUST follow.  Each state can ADD to the minimum federal rule to give even more rights to the consumer... and most states DO!

If you would like to know more about whether this cancellation rule applies to your business and about further requirements of this rule, please click on the following link to download our FREE white paper on the 3-day cancellation rule.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE 3-DAY CANCELLATION RULE..... CLICK HERE

 

 

Topics: home improvement contract, 3 day right to cancel, home improvement, 3 day cooling off period, 3 day recission period, notice of cancellation form

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