Source: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/consumerlaws.aspx/?from=nav
Timestamp: 2013-05-25 14:10:10
Document Index: 574564260

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1333', '§ 1334', '§ 4505', '§ 5311', '§ 1345', '§ 109', '§ 1349', '§ 1349', '§ 1349', '§ 4712', '§ 4710', '§ 1345', '§ 1349', '§ 1345', '§ 1322', '§ 1345', '§ 1345', '§ 4775', '§ 4549', '§ 1345', '§ 4905', '§ 1317', '§ 1349', '§ 1321', '§ 109', '§ 4719', '§ 1345', '§ 3953']

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Individuals and Families > Consumers > Laws Protecting Consumers
Ohio Consumer Protection Laws
The Ohio Attorney General has enforcement authority over more than 25 consumer protection laws, which are listed below with a brief overview of key protections that consumers have under the laws. Please note that the following information is for educational purposes only, and additional laws may apply. The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) and the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) are available at http://codes.ohio.gov.
Anti-Pyramid Sales Act
Business Opportunity Purchaser’s Protection Act Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title Act Condominium Sales Act Consumer Sales Practices Act
Consumer Sales Practices Act-Substantive Rules Credit Card Recording Act Credit Card Truncation Act Credit Freeze Act Credit Services Organization Act Debt Adjusters Act Defective Assistive Devices Act Gift Card Act Hearing Aid Returns Act Homebuyer’s Protection Act (Predatory Lending Law) Home Solicitation Sales Act Lemon Law (Nonconforming New Motor Vehicle Law) Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Operators Act Odometer Rollback and Disclosures Act Prepaid Entertainment Contracts Act Public Utilities Commission Act Retail Installment Sales / Layaway Act Security Breach Notification Act Short-Term Lender Law (Payday Lending Law) Telemarketing Act Telephone Solicitation Sales Act Title Defect Rescission Act Title Insurance Act Federal Consumer Protection Laws
Please note that this is not meant to be a comprehensive list.
Selected Federal Consumer Protection Laws
Food and Drug Administration Act (labeling and disclosures)
Junk Fax Act
Selected Federal Trade Commission Rules
Negative Option Rule
Anti-Pyramid Sales Act (1974)
ORC. § 1333.91
Makes it is illegal to participate in pyramid sales schemes.
Pyramid sales operate like giant chain letters. Participants pay to join, then recruit others in order to profit from the new recruits' fees. Although there may be some profit for the handful of people who join at the beginning, the remaining investors inevitably lose all their money.
Business Opportunity Purchaser's Protection Act (1979)
ORC. § 1334.01
Gives consumers five days to cancel business opportunity agreements.
Requires sellers to give consumers written notice of their right to cancel.
Requires all oral promises to be included in the written contract.
Prohibits sellers from making misrepresentations about the business opportunity.
In a business opportunity agreement, a buyer pays a seller for the right to offer, sell or distribute goods or services. Some business opportunity ventures are scams that promise quick profits but require large initial down payments. Often, they promote products or services that have no real value or do not exist. This is especially true for Internet-based and "work-at-home" ventures. Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title Act (2001) ORC § 4505.181
Gives consumers the unconditional right to cancel their vehicle purchase if dealers do not deliver their titles within 40 days of the purchase. Condominium Sales Act (2004) ORC § 5311.25
Protects the rights of condominium unit owners.
Mandates disclosures during construction.
Consumer Sales Practices Act (1972) ORC § 1345.01
Protects consumers from unfair, deceptive or unconscionable acts or practices in connection with the purchase or solicitation for a purchase that would be used for the home or personal use
Makes it illegal for sellers to misrepresent the nature of their business, products or services, the price of their goods or the terms of a transaction.
Prohibits sellers from taking advantage of a consumer’s illiteracy, mental or physical disability, or inability to understand the terms of a sale.
Prohibits sellers from selling a product or service to a consumer they know cannot afford or substantially benefit from the purchase.
Requires sellers to honor guarantees, warranties and rain checks.
Protects consumers from deceptive advertising and other types of fraud.
Consumer Sales Practices Act - Substantive Rules (1973)
OAC § 109:4-3-01
109:4-3-01 - Severability; Definitions
109:4-3-02 - Exclusion
109:4-3-03 - Bait Advertising
109:4-3-04 - Use of Word "free"
109:4-3-05 - Repairs or Services
109:4-3-06 - Prizes
109:4-3-07 - Deposit
109:4-3-08 - New for Used
109:4-3-09 - Failure to Deliver
109:4-3-10 - Substantiation of Claims
109:4-3-11 - Direct Solicitations
109:4-3-12 - Price Comparison
109:4-3-13 - Motor Vehicle Repairs
109:4-3-14 - Insulation
109:4-3-15 - Motor Vehicle Rust
109:4-3-16 - Motor Vehicle Sales
109:4-3-17 - Distress Sales
109:4-3-18 - Sale of Gasoline
109:4-3-19 - Determining a consumer’s ability to repay a residential mortgage loan
109:4-3-20 - Refinancing a low rate mortgage
109:4-3-21 - Instructing consumer to ignore information
109:4-3-22 - Recommending default
109:4-3-23 - Required disclosure at closing
109:4-3-24 - Improperly influencing appraiser
109:4-3-25 - Debt collection agreements
109:4-3-26 - Reasonable, tangible net benefit
109:4-3-27 - No reasonable probability of payment
109:4-3-28 - Unconscionable terms in home mortgage loans
109:4-3-29 - Distribution and receipt of home mortgage loan informational document
109:4-3-30 - Limitation on advance payments
Credit Card Recording Act (2004)
ORC § 1349.17
Credit Card Truncation Act (1993) ORC § 1349.18
Prohibits sellers from giving out consumers' social security numbers, credit card account numbers, expiration dates and other personal financial information. Credit Freeze Act (2008)
ORC § 1349.52
Credit Services Organization Act (2004)
ORC § 4712.01
Mandates registration and bonding for organizations that offer credit repair, debt counseling or related services.
Gives consumers a three-day right to cancel contracts with credit service organizations.
Debt Adjusters Act (2004)
ORC § 4710.01
Set rules and regulations for nonprofits and other businesses that offer credit repair services, debt counseling, budget management and related services to consumers facing financial difficulties. Requires debt adjusters to file annual financial statement with the Attorney General's Office.
Requires debt adjusters to submit funds to creditors within 30 days of receipt, maintain separate trust accounts for these funds, and maintain $100,000 insurance coverage.
Prohibits debt adjusters from accepting more than $75 for initial consultation, accepting more than $100 annually for consultation fees or contributions or charging more than 8.5 percent of amount paid by debtor each month or $30, whichever is greater.
Defective Assistive Devices Act (1996) ORC § 1345.90
Requires one-year warranties covering the full cost of repair or replacement for products designed for disabled consumers. Applies to products such as hearing aids, wheelchairs, motorized scooters, talking software, etc.
Gift Card Act (2006) ORC § 1349.61
Makes it illegal for most gift cards to expire in less than two years from their issue date.
States that gift cards with no expiration dates are valid until redeemed or replaced. Hearing Aid Returns Act (1996) ORC § 1345.31
Gives consumers 30 days to return hearing aids.
Requires hearing aid receipts to list a consumer’s right to return.
Homebuyer's Protection Act (Predatory Lending Law) (2007) ORC § 1322.01
Protects consumers from abusive lending practices committed on or after January 1, 2007 by non-bank lenders, loan officers and mortgage brokers.
Amends several statutes.
Home Solicitation Sales Act (1973) ORC § 1345.21, 1345.22, 1345.23, 1345.24, 1345.25, 1345.26, 1345.27, 1345.28
Gives consumers three days to cancel any transaction of $25 or more that occurs at a location outside the seller’s regular place of business, such as the consumer’s home, a fair booth or a hotel meeting room.
Requires sellers to give consumers written notice of their right to cancel. Prohibits sellers from beginning any service or selling any loan agreement during the three-day “cooling off” period.
Requires sellers to refund consumers within 10 days if they cancel the contract.
Lemon Law (Nonconforming New Motor Vehicle Law) (1987)
ORC § 1345.71
Requires auto manufacturers to repair or replace lemon* vehicles within a reasonable period of time. Requires manufacturers to notify buyers of their right to compensation if a vehicle is defective. Establishes a consumer’s right to be refunded if the vehicle is not repaired or replaced within a reasonable period. A lemon is a new motor vehicle that has a problem or problems, covered by the warranty, that substantially impair the use, value or safety of the vehicle. The lemon law covers problems that occur within the first year of purchase or the first 18,000 miles of the vehicle, whichever comes first. Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Operators Act (2001) ORC § 4775.02
Requires registration and insurance for people who repair vehicles that have been damaged in collisions.
Odometer Rollback and Disclosure Act (1977)
ORC § 4549.41
Makes it is illegal to alter or conceal the mileage reading of a vehicle.
Establishes a $1000 penalty for tampering with the odometer.
Requires written notice of odometer repair.
Prepaid Entertainment Contracts Act (1976)
ORC § 1345.41
Protects consumers who pay in advance for the services of health spas, dance studios, diet centers, dating agencies or martial arts schools. Gives consumers three days after their first services are available to cancel their contracts.
Sets a three-year limit for the length of these contracts. Public Utilities Commission Act (2000) ORC § 4905.72
Requires public utilities to get consumers' permission to change their natural gas or public telecommunications providers (prohibits “slamming” for natural gas or telephone providers).
Retail Installment Sales Layaway Arrangements Act (1992)
ORC § 1317.01
Requires merchants to notify consumers who are about to default on their layaway agreements.
Grants consumers the right to cancel their layaway agreements and be refunded at any time. Security Breach Notification Act (2006)
ORC § 1349.19
Requires sellers to notify consumers if a security breach puts their personal information at risk for identity theft or other fraud. Short-Term Lender Law (2008) (Payday Lending Law)
ORC § 1321.35
Limits payday loans to 28% annual percentage rate, prohibits unfair debt collection and requires Internet lenders to have an Ohio location.
Telemarketing Act (2004)
ORC § 109.87
Allows the Ohio Attorney General to enforce federal telemarketing laws.
Telephone Solicitation Sales Act (1996)
ORC § 4719.01 Requires certain telemarketing businesses operating inside and outside Ohio to register with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Says that no contract made through a telemarketing call is valid until the telemarketer receives a signed, written confirmation from the consumer.
Establishes criminal and civil penalties for violations of the law. Title Defect Rescission Act (1996)
ORC § 1345.52
Allows dealers that participate in the Title Defect Rescission Fund (TDR) to sell vehicles before acquiring titles for them.
Gives buyers the unconditional right to cancel if a TDR member dealer does not deliver the title to the buyer within 40 days of purchase.
Allows the Ohio Attorney General's Office to reimburse a consumer who purchased a vehicle from a dealer who does not deliver the title on time.
Title Insurance Act (2007)
ORC § 3953.35
Prohibits title insurance agents from pressuring or misleading consumers regarding loans of seventy-five thousand dollars or less.