Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 940 CMR - OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL › Title 940 CMR 15.00 - The Sale Of Travel Services › Section 15.04 - Disclosures Required

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) No seller of
			 travel services may fail to disclose information about a travel service it
			 offers to sell, provide, contract for, or arrange, where such failure has the
			 capacity or tendency to deceive or mislead a consumer, or has the effect of
			 deceiving or misleading a consumer in any material respect; nor may a seller of
			 travel services fail to disclose to a consumer any fact the disclosure of which
			 may have influenced the consumer not to enter into a transaction.
(2) No seller of travel services may accept
			 any payment in any form, either directly or indirectly, from a consumer for
			 travel services, including but not limited to payment by cash, check, money
			 order, credit card, debit card, charge card, or authorization for electronic
			 funds transfer or credit card charge, unless and until the seller of travel
			 services has provided the consumer, either directly or through another seller
			 of travel services, with the following information:
(a) the name, complete street business
			 address and telephone number of the seller of travel services selling directly
			 to the consumer, including the name of the owner(s) if the seller is a business
			 entity; and
(b) the name, complete
			 street business address and telephone number of the provider(s) of any travel
			 package being purchased, if any such provider is not the seller of travel
			 services from whom the consumer is purchasing directly, including but not
			 limited to any tour operator, ocean cruise company, charter company, provider
			 of travel certificates, or vacation club; and
(c) the total amount to be paid, the date(s)
			 of payment, a complete, detailed, itemized statement of the travel services
			 purchased with the payment, and an itemized statement of any balance due;
			 and
(d) the complete terms of any
			 substitution policy of any seller of travel services that may apply to the
			 consumer's purchase of travel services; provided, however, that whenever for
			 the purpose of a particular transaction the seller of travel services dealing
			 directly with the consumer is a travel agent, the travel agent's failure to
			 disclose the complete terms will not violate 940 CMR 15.04 if the travel agent
			 has made diligent efforts to obtain the complete information from the tour
			 operator or other relevant seller of travel services, and the travel agent
			 neither knows nor has reason to know that the information the travel agent is
			 disclosing to the consumer is incomplete; and
(e) the complete terms of any cancellation or
			 refund policy of any seller of travel services that may apply to the consumer's
			 purchase of travel services; provided, however, that whenever for the purpose
			 of a particular transaction the seller of travel services dealing directly with
			 the consumer is a travel agent, the travel agent's failure to disclose the
			 complete terms will not violate 940 CMR 15.04 if the travel agent has made
			 diligent efforts to obtain the complete information from the tour operator or
			 other relevant seller of travel services, and the travel agent neither knows
			 nor has reason to know that the information the travel agent is disclosing to
			 the consumer is incomplete; and
(f)
			 the complete terms of any trip cancellation insurance policy offered by or
			 through the seller of travel services, including but not limited to the
			 specific extent of each policy's coverage, exclusions, limitations, and
			 benefits payable; provided, however, that whenever for the purpose of a
			 particular transaction the seller of travel services dealing directly with the
			 consumer is a travel agent, the travel agent's failure to disclose the complete
			 terms will not violate 940 CMR 15.04 if the travel agent has made diligent
			 efforts to obtain the complete information from the tour operator or other
			 relevant seller of travel services, and the travel agent neither knows nor has
			 reason to know that the information the travel agent is disclosing to the
			 consumer is incomplete.