Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 255D § 9

Current through Chapters 1 to 249 and Chapters 253 to 255 of the 2024 Legislative Session

Section 255D:9 - Retail installment sale agreements; form and contents

A. The printed terms of every retail installment sale agreement shall be set in at least eight point type, except as otherwise required herein. If the terms of a retail installment sale agreement are contained on both sides of a page, there shall appear on the first page the following words appearing conspicuously "The terms of this agreement are contained on both sides of this page." If the terms of a retail installment sale agreement are contained on more than both sides of one page, there shall appear on the first side of each preceding page, the following words appearing conspicuously "The terms of this agreement are contained on more than one page."

B. Every retail installment sale agreement shall be in writing and shall include the date when signed, the name and address of both the seller and the buyer, a description of the goods or services purchased, a description of collateral securing the installment buyer's obligation under the agreement, if any, and, at the top of the first page of the agreement appearing conspicuously the words "Retail Installment Sale Agreement Subject to State Regulation."

C. [Deleted.]

D. Every retail installment sale agreement shall contain the following notice appearing conspicuously 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 receive a partial rebate of the finance and insurance charges.

(4) You may under certain circumstances redeem the property if repossessed because of your default, and you may, under certain conditions, require a resale of the property if repossessed.

(5) The seller has no right to unlawfully enter your premises or commit any breach of the peace to repossess goods purchased under this agreement.

If the seller takes no security interest in the goods, clauses (4) and (5) need not be included in the notice.

Every retail installment sale agreement signed by the buyer at a place other than an address of the seller, which may be his main office or branch thereof, one of which must be shown on the agreement, shall be in writing in the same language as that principally used in the oral sales presentation, except as further provided herein and shall also contain the following statement appearing on the front page thereof in the immediate proximity to the space reserved for the buyer's signature and in boldface type of a minimum size of ten points:

You may cancel this agreement if it has been signed by a party thereto at a place other than an address of the seller, which may be his main office or branch thereof, provided you notify the seller in writing at his main office or branch, by ordinary mail posted, by telegram sent or by delivery, not later than midnight of the third business day following the signing of this agreement.

See the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this right.

Each such agreement, except as further provided herein, shall have attached thereto a completed form in duplicate, which shall be easily detachable, and which shall contain in ten point boldface type the following in the same language as that used in the agreement:

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 agreement, 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 cancelled.

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 agreement; 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)

Forms and notices of the right to cancel prescribed by rules of the Federal Trade Commission may be substituted for the forms and notices required by this subsection.

The failure to include a required or an agreed term or to deliver a copy of the agreement signed by the seller or lessor shall give the buyer the right to cancel said agreement until the omitted term is provided or the copy of the agreement delivered. In either case, the three business day time period during which the buyer may cancel shall not commence until the failure to include terms or deliver a copy has been corrected.

The seller shall inform the buyer orally, at the time he signs the agreement, of his right to cancel and shall not misrepresent in any manner this right.

The seller shall not negotiate, transfer, sell or assign any such agreement to a finance company or other third party prior to midnight of the fifth business day following the day the agreement was signed. No negotiation, transfer, sale or assignment of any agreement shall defeat or limit the buyer's right to cancel the agreement because of failure to include a required or an agreed term or to deliver an accurate copy of the agreement.

This subsection shall not apply to a transaction in which the buyer is accorded the right of rescission by the provisions of chapter one hundred and forty D; or 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.

A seller of services shall not commence such service during the three business day cancellation period, and the buyer shall not be responsible for the value of work performed during such period, in the event of cancellation.

E. The seller shall deliver to the buyer, or mail to him at his address shown on the retail installment sale agreement, an executed copy thereof. Any acknowledgment by the buyer of delivery of a copy of the agreement shall be conspicuously printed or written and, if contained in the agreement, shall also appear directly to the left of the space reserved for the buyer's signature. The buyer's written acknowledgment, conforming to the requirements of this section, of delivery of a copy of a retail installment sale agreement shall be presumptive evidence of such delivery and of compliance with this section in any action or proceeding by or against an assignee of the agreement without knowledge to the contrary when he purchases the retail installment sale agreement.

F. Any sale otherwise subject to the provisions of this chapter which has been negotiated or entered into by mail or telephone without personal solicitation by a salesman or other representative of the seller, where the seller's cash and deferred payment prices and other terms are clearly set forth in a catalog or other printed solicitation of business which is generally available to the public, shall not be subject to the requirements that a copy of the contract be signed by the buyer or be delivered to the buyer; provided, that the seller delivers to the buyer, before the date for the payment of the first installment, a memorandum of the purchase containing all of the essential elements of the agreement. The prohibition against blank spaces contained in section ten shall not apply to the seller where a sale is negotiated or entered into by mail.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 255D, § 9