Consumer contract - 3 day 'cooling-off' period

[RogerC]

Arizona.

I signed a contract for installation of a home security system with a security monitoring service. I signed the contract the same day that they came to my house to install the system (on 12/13). The contract says I have 3 days to cancel, which will be by midnight on 12/16 (two days from today). At the time I signed the contract I was under stress because my home had just been broken into that week and I was robbed. I signed it quickly without doing the research I would normally have done.

Well, I did some research today and realize I will be paying too much for this service. I want to cancel before the end of the 3-day cancellation period, but the contract says I will owe $500 in cancellation fees for the installation. Although it also says I can cancel within this period for any reason and with 'no obligation'.

How can this be? If I understand correctly, this 'cooling-off' law was established so that people who were pressured into making a purchase by 'high-pressure sales tactics' can have time to reconsider. What good is this law if you still have to pay fees?

 

[Zigner]

Arizona.

I signed a contract for installation of a home security system with a security monitoring service. I signed the contract the same day that they came to my house to install the system (on 12/13). The contract says I have 3 days to cancel, which will be by midnight on 12/16 (two days from today). At the time I signed the contract I was under stress because my home had just been broken into that week and I was robbed. I signed it quickly without doing the research I would normally have done.

Well, I did some research today and realize I will be paying too much for this service. I want to cancel before the end of the 3-day cancellation period, but the contract says I will owe $500 in cancellation fees for the installation. Although it also says I can cancel within this period for any reason and with 'no obligation'.

How can this be? If I understand correctly, this 'cooling-off' law was established so that people who were pressured into making a purchase by 'high-pressure sales tactics' can have time to reconsider. What good is this law if you still have to pay fees?

The "no obligation" means you don't have to pay $500. The $500 is if you cancel AFTER the 3 day period. Call them on Monday and see what they have to say.

 

[RogerC]

Thanks Zigner! The salesman made it sound like the fees applied regardless, but I was fairly certain the law would prevent that. I'll give them a call.

 

[RogerC]

Well, I called the salesman this morning to cancel the contract and he tells me I 'signed a waiver' regarding the 3-day cancellation policy. And this means I will owe the $500 fees if I cancel. I don't have a copy of the waiver I signed. He says he will fax me a copy. That was 3 hours ago but I haven't seen it yet.

Can anyone tell me if this waiver is valid? It seems like this would make the law useless. If the law is supposed to protect people from high-pressure sales tactics being used to get you to sign a contract, what sense does it make for them to be able to use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to sign a waiver at the same time? This makes no sense to me. I don't know what to do.

 

[Mrs. D]

Call him back on a cell phone where you get monthly records of all calls made and re-iterate your desire to cancel your contract. Then write him a letter and fax it to him saying the same thing (today, as in right now). Then send the same letter certified mail, return receipt requested. That way you have your desire to cancel in writing, as well as evidence that you made every effort to make this request within the 3 days allowed. Then wait for him to produce the waiver...he'd have to prove you waived the provision of the contract, either in order to sue you for the $500 or to defend himself against your suit to get back the $500.

 

[RogerC]

Thank you very much for the advice Mrs. D.

Well, it looks as though I did in fact sign the waiver. I was under a lot of stress because my house had just been broken into and the police think it was done by the same robbers that shot someone recently during another break-in nearby. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly. Now that I've had time to think it through, I think the salesperson really manipulated me into signing. But it looks like I'm stuck.

It seems like that law is pretty useless. If a salesperson can pressure you into signing the contract to begin with, they can certainly pressure you into waiving the provision.

 

[RogerC]

Just to follow-up on my last post...
The security company pressured me into signing the waiver by not having me sign the contract until the guy (and his wife) came to actually do the installation. They made it sound like I put them out by having them set up the appointment so quick and if I didn't sign the waiver they wouldn't be able to come back for several weeks. They said that because they came out so quickly, it was considered a 'special order' so I had to sign a 'special order waiver'. So the guy was right there in my home already doing the installation when he put the contract in front of me. In fact, I had never actually asked for an immediate installation date... the saleman had suggested the 'next day' appointment himself. In retrospect, I think this was a deliberate tactic to work around the law. (The 'special order waiver' was a pre-made form specifically stating that I was waiving my rights with respect to the 'cooling-off law'). The next day, when I told them I wanted to back-out of the contract (still within the first 3 days), they wouldn't let me. The security company is called Protect America and now I'm hooked into paying them more than I should for the next two years. If anyone is looking for a home security system, I would stay away from Protect America.