[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR429.1]

[Page 425-426]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
                   CHAPTER I--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
 
PART 429_RULE CONCERNING COOLING-OFF PERIOD FOR SALES MADE AT HOMES 
OR AT CERTAIN OTHER LOCATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 429.1  The Rule.

    In connection with any door-to-door sale, it constitutes an unfair 
and deceptive act or practice for any seller to:
    (a) Fail to furnish the buyer with a fully completed receipt or copy 
of any contract pertaining to such sale at the time of its execution, 
which is in the same language, e.g., Spanish, as that principally used 
in the oral sales presentation and which shows the date of the 
transaction and contains the name and address of the seller, and in 
immediate proximity to the space reserved in the contract for the 
signature of the buyer or on the front page of the receipt if a contract 
is not used and in bold face type of a minimum size of 10 points, a 
statement in substantially the following form:

    ``You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to 
midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. 
See the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this 
right.''


The seller may select the method of providing the buyer with the 
duplicate notice of cancellation form set forth in paragraph (b) of this 
section, provided however, that in the event of cancellation the buyer 
must be able to retain a complete copy of the contract or receipt. 
Furthermore, if both forms are not attached to the contract or receipt, 
the seller is required to alter the last sentence in the statement above 
to conform to the actual location of the forms.
    (b) Fail to furnish each buyer, at the time the buyer signs the 
door-to-door sales contract or otherwise agrees to buy consumer goods or 
services from the seller, a completed form in duplicate, captioned 
either ``NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL'' or ``NOTICE OF CANCELLATION,'' 
which shall (where applicable) contain in ten point bold face type the 
following information and statements in the same language, e.g., 
Spanish, as that used in the contract.

                         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 contract or sale, 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

[[Page 426]]

goods delivered to you under this contract or sale, 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 20 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)__________________________________________________________________
(Buyer's signature)_____________________________________________________

    (c) Fail, before furnishing copies of the ``Notice of Cancellation'' 
to the buyer, to complete both copies by entering the name of the 
seller, the address of the seller's place of business, the date of the 
transaction, and the date, not earlier than the third business day 
following the date of the transaction, by which the buyer may give 
notice of cancellation.
    (d) Include in any door-to-door contract or receipt any confession 
of judgment or any waiver of any of the rights to which the buyer is 
entitled under this section including specifically the buyer's right to 
cancel the sale in accordance with the provisions of this section.
    (e) Fail to inform each buyer orally, at the time the buyer signs 
the contract or purchases the goods or services, of the buyer's right to 
cancel.
    (f) Misrepresent in any manner the buyer's right to cancel.
    (g) Fail or refuse to honor any valid notice of cancellation by a 
buyer and within 10 business days after the receipt of such notice, to: 
(i) Refund all payments made under the contract or sale; (ii) return any 
goods or property traded in, in substantially as good condition as when 
received by the seller; (iii) cancel and return any negotiable 
instrument executed by the buyer in connection with the contract or sale 
and take any action necessary or appropriate to terminate promptly any 
security interest created in the transaction.
    (h) Negotiate, transfer, sell, or assign any note 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 contract was 
signed or the goods or services were purchased.
    (i) Fail, within 10 business days of receipt of the buyer's notice 
of cancellation, to notify the buyer whether the seller intends to 
repossess or to abandon any shipped or delivered goods.

[37 FR 22934, Oct. 26, 1972, as amended at 38 FR 30105, Nov. 1, 1973; 38 
FR 31828, Nov. 19, 1973; 53 FR 45459, Nov. 10, 1988; 60 FR 54186, Oct. 
20, 1995]