2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 93 - Regulation of Trade and Certain Enterprises › Section 48 - Cancellation of Agreements Consummated at Place Other Than Seller's Place of Business

Section 48. A. An agreement providing for the sale or lease of goods, or the rendering of services, or both, primarily for personal, family or household purposes in excess of twenty-five dollars in value and which is consummated by a party thereto at a place other than the address of the seller or lessor, which may be his main office or branch thereof, may be canceled by the buyer for other than the seller's or lessor's breach, whether or not such agreement contains a provision for periodic payments or an extension of credit, provided the buyer, not later than midnight of the third business day following execution of the agreement, notifies the seller or lessor that he is canceling, and such cancellation shall be effective thereupon.
B. Each such agreement shall be in writing, in the same language as that principally used in the oral sales presentation, signed by the seller or lessor, containing his address, the date of the transaction and all the terms agreed upon by the parties or required by law. 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 time period during which the buyer may cancel under subsection A shall not commence until the failure to include terms or deliver a copy has been corrected.
Each agreement shall contain the following statement appearing on the front page thereof in 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 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:—
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
(Enter date of transaction)(Date)
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
to ___,
(Name of seller)
at ___ not later
(Address of seller's place of business)
than midnight of ___.
(Date)
I hereby cancel this transaction.
___
(Date)
___
(Buyer's signature)
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.
C. Notice of cancellation under this section shall be given in writing to the seller at the place of business as set forth in the agreement by ordinary mail posted, by telegram sent or by delivery, not later than midnight of the third business day following execution of the agreement.
D. In the event of cancellation pursuant to this section the seller or lessor shall within ten business days of the receipt of any valid notice of cancellation (i) refund all payments made, including any down payment made under the agreement; (ii) return any goods or property traded in to the seller on account of or in contemplation of the agreement, in substantially as good condition as when received by the seller; (iii) cancel and return any copies of the agreement and any negotiable instrument signed by the buyer with a notation indicating that it has been cancelled; and (
iv
) take any action necessary or appropriate to terminate promptly any security interest created in connection with the agreement.
The seller or lessor shall be entitled to reclaim and the buyer shall return whenever possible or hold at the seller's disposal any goods received by the buyer under the agreement. The buyer may, at his option, comply with the instructions of the seller or lessor regarding the return shipment of the goods at the seller's or lessor's expense and risk. If the buyer does make the goods available to the seller and the seller does not pick them up within twenty days of the date of the buyer's notice of cancellation, the buyer may retain or dispose of the goods without any further obligation. If the buyer fails to make the goods available to the seller, or if the buyer agrees to return the goods to the seller and fails to do so, then the buyer shall remain liable for performance of all obligations under the contract.
The seller or lessor shall within ten business days of receipt of the buyer's notice of cancellation notify the buyer whether the seller or lessor intends to repossess or to abandon any shipped or delivered goods.
E. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
F. A violation of this section shall constitute a violation of chapter ninety-three A.
G. An agreement subject to this section shall not contain any waiver of the buyer's rights provided under this section.
H. The seller or lessor shall inform the buyer orally, at the time he signs the agreement, of his right to cancel and shall not misrepresent in any manner such right.
I. The seller or lessor shall not negotiate, transfer, sell, or assign any agreement or other evidence of indebtedness 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 or other evidence of indebtedness 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, as provided in subsection B.
J. 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.
K. This section shall not apply to a transaction in which the buyer is accorded the right to rescission by the provisions of chapter one hundred and forty D, or in which the buyer has initiated the transaction 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.