(A) It shall be a deceptive act or practice
in connection with a consumer transaction involving the performance of either
repairs or any service where the anticipated cost exceeds twenty-five dollars
and there has been face to face contact between the consumer or the consumer's
representative and the supplier or the supplier's representative, prior to the
commencement of the repair or service for a supplier to:
(1) Fail, at the time of the initial face to
face contact and prior to the commencement of any repair or service, to provide
the consumer with a form which indicates the date, the identity of the
supplier, the consumer's name and telephone number, the reasonably anticipated
completion date and, if requested by the consumer, the anticipated cost of the
repair or service. The form shall also clearly and conspicuously contain the
following disclosures in substantially the following language:
"Estimate
You have the right to an estimate if the expected cost of
repairs or or services will be more than
twenty-five dollars. Initial your choice:
_____ written estimate
_____ oral estimate
_____ no estimate"
(2) Fail, where no portion of a repair or
service is to be performed at the consumer's residence, to post a sign in a
conspicuous place within that area of the supplier's place of business to which
consumers requesting any repair or service are directed by the supplier or to
give the consumer a separate form at the time of the initial face to face
contact and prior to the commencement of any repair or service which clearly
and conspicuously contains the following language:
"Notice
If the expected cost of a repair or service is more than
twenty-five dollars, you have the right to receive a written estimate, oral
estimate, or you can choose to receive no estimate before we begin work. Your
bill will not be higher than the estimate by more than five dollars or ten per
cent, whichever is greater, unless you approve a larger amount before repairs
are finished. Ohio law requires us to give you a form so that you can choose
either a written, oral, or no estimate."
(3) Fail, where a consumer requests a written
estimate of the anticipated cost of repairs or services, to make a bona fide
effort during the initial face to face contact to provide the written estimate
on the form required by paragraph (A)(1) of this rule;
(4) Fail, where a consumer requests a written
or oral estimate, to give the estimate to the consumer before commencing the
repair or service.
(B)
It shall be a deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer
transaction involving the performance of either a repair or a service where the
anticipated cost exceeds twenty-five dollars and where any portion of the
repair or service is to be performed at the consumer's residence, for a
supplier to fail to orally inform the consumer at the time of the initial face
to face contact and prior to the commencement of any repair or service, of the
consumer's right to receive a written or oral estimate and to provide the
consumer with a form which conforms to the requirements of paragraph (A)(1) of
this rule. For purposes of this paragraph, where a supplier performs any part
of a repair or service at a consumer's residence, the repair or service shall
not be deemed to have been commenced until the supplier arrives at the
consumer's residence.
(C) It shall
be a deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction
involving the performance of either a repair or a service where there has not
been face to face contact between the consumer or the consumer's representative
and the supplier or the supplier's representative prior to the commencement of
the repair or service for a supplier to:
(1)
Fail, upon the first contact with the consumer, to inform the consumer orally
of the consumer's right to receive an oral or written estimate of the
anticipated cost of the repair or service;
(2) Fail, where the consumer requests an oral
estimate, to give the oral estimate to the consumer before commencing the
repair or service;
(3) Fail, where
the consumer requests a written estimate, to prepare a written estimate, inform
the consumer that the estimate is available, and upon the consumer's request,
give the estimate to the consumer before commencing the repair or
service.
(D) In any
consumer transaction involving the performance of any repair or service it
shall be a deceptive act or practice for a supplier to:
(1) Make the performance of any repair or
service contingent upon a consumer's waiver of any rights provided for in this
rule;
(2) Fail, in those cases
where an estimate has been requested by a consumer, and the anticipated cost of
the repair is fifty dollars, or less, to obtain oral or written authorization
for the anticipated cost of any additional, unforeseen, but necessary repairs
when the cost of those repairs exceeds five dollars (excluding tax);
(3) Fail, in those cases where an estimate
has been requested by a consumer, and the anticipated cost of the repair or
service exceeds fifty dollars, to obtain oral or written authorization from the
consumer for the anticipated cost of any additional, unforeseen, but necessary
repairs when the cost of those repairs amounts to ten per cent or more
(excluding tax) of the original estimate;
(4) Fail, where the anticipated cost of a
repair or service is less than twenty-five dollars and an estimate has not been
given to the consumer, to obtain oral or written authorization from the
consumer for the anticipated cost of any additional, unforeseen, but necessary
repairs or services when the total cost of the repairs or services, if
performed, will exceed twenty-five dollars;
(5) Fail to disclose prior to acceptance of
any item of goods for inspection, repair, or service, that in the event the
consumer authorizes commencement but does not authorize completion of a repair
or service, that a charge will be imposed for disassembly, reassembly, or
partially completed work. Any charge so imposed must be directly related to the
actual amount of labor or parts involved in the inspection, repair or
service;
(6) Charge for any repair
or service which has not been authorized by the consumer;
(7) Fail to disclose upon the first contact
with the consumer that any charge not directly related to the actual
performance of the repair or service will be imposed by the supplier, including
but not limited to service charges, charges imposed by the supplier for
traveling to the consumer's residence, or charges for diagnosis, whether or not
repairs or services are performed;
(8) Represent that repairs or services are
necessary when such is not the fact;
(9) Represent that repairs have been made or
services have been performed when such is not the fact;
(10) Represent that an item of goods or any
part thereof which is being inspected or diagnosed for a repair or service is
in a dangerous condition, or that the consumer's continued use of it may be
harmful, when such is not the fact;
(11) Materially understate or misstate the
estimated cost of the repair or service;
(12) Fail to provide the consumer with a
written itemized list of repairs performed or services rendered, including a
list of parts or materials and a statement of whether they are used,
remanufactured, or rebuilt, if not new, and the cost thereof to the consumer,
the amount charged for labor, and the identity of the individual performing the
repair or service;
(13) Fail to
tender to the consumer any replaced parts, unless the parts are to be rebuilt
or sold by the supplier, or returned to the manufacturer in connection with a
warranted repair or service, and such intended reuse or return is made known to
the consumer prior to commencing any repair or service;
(14) Fail to provide to the consumer upon the
consumer's request a written, itemized receipt for any item of goods that is
left with, or turned over to, the supplier for repair or service. Such receipt
shall include:
(a) The identity of the
supplier which will perform the repair or service;
(b) The name and signature of the supplier or
a representative who actually accepts the goods;
(c) A description including make and model
number or such other features as will reasonably identify the goods to be
repaired or serviced;
(d) The date
on which the goods were left with or turned over to the supplier.
(15) Fail, at the time of the
signing or initialing of any document by a consumer, to provide the consumer
with a copy of the document;
(16)
Fail to disclose to the consumer prior to the commencement of any repair or
service, that any part of the repair or service will be performed by a person
other than the supplier or
his
the supplier's employees if the supplier disclaims any
warranty of the repair or service performed by that person, the nature of the
repair or service which that person will perform, and if requested by the
consumer, the identity of that person;
(17) Represent that repairs or services must
be performed away from the consumer's residence when such is not the
fact.
(E) The sign or
form required by paragraph (A)(2) of this rule shall be printed in such a size
and manner so that the notice is easily legible. Additional disclosures
required by this rule may be incorporated into the sign or form so long as the
language required by paragraph (A)(2) of this rule prominently appears as the
first listed disclosure. Where a supplier gives written estimates to consumers
prior to the commencement of any repair or service regardless of the
anticipated cost of repairs or services, the language in the form required by
paragraph (A)(1) of this rule and the sign or form required by paragraph (A)(2)
of this rule may be modified to disclose that fact.
(F) The form required by paragraph (A)(1) of
this rule may be separate or may be incorporated into another form used by the
supplier as long as the required disclosures are easily legible and clearly and
conspicuously appear on the form. Nothing in this rule shall preclude a
supplier from incorporating into the same form additional disclosures required
by this rule.
(G) In lieu of
complying with the requirements of paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of this rule, a
supplier may provide a consumer, prior to the commencement of any repair or
service, with a written quotation of the price at which the repair or service
will be performed, which shall indicate that the quotation shall be binding
upon the supplier for a period of five days, provided that the subject of the
consumer transaction is made available to the supplier for the repair or
service within that period.
(H) The
provisions of this rule shall have no application to consumer transactions
involving the repair or service of a "motor vehicle" as that term is defined in
division (B) of section
4501.01 of the Revised
Code.