“Dear Steve,
We recently entered into a contract with Direct Buy. We singed a contract that showed the balance paid in full.
Before leaving the building we were notified that the full amount did not charge through to our card. We told the representative to process the remaining balance the next day, assuming that it would go through. No adjustments to the contract were made to reflect the actual amount processed.
We have since decided to back out of the contract. I called my credit card company before the transaction posted, asked them to decline/reverse the charge and canceled my card so they could not reprocess. I thought this was taking place and layed the situation to rest. Once I saw the amount posted to my CC, I called the CC company and explained my situtation and they then referred me to contact DB.
After days of trying to reach a representative regarding cancelling the account, we had no sucess in reaching one. I reverted to sending a fax to the corporate and franchise office and mailed a copy through certified mail (to the franchise) A representative called me back and says that the contract states that it can not be cancelled or refunded, then calles back and says it can be cancelled but i would loose the money we put dowm..BS
My question is: Since the form/Contract was not corrected to read the correct balance owed (showed 0.00) and funds are unavailble to process the rest. Do they have any right to keep my money or hold me to the contract. It may be a technicality but the contract does reflect incorrect information
Does Louisiana have any consumer protection acts in place to protect purchases over a certain amount for how many days?”
What does your agreement say about cancellation provisions? It might be that Louisiana does not have a three day cancellation clause in their contract. I would not be able to tell without seeing your agreement.
You may want to contact the Louisiana Attorney General office for clarification is there even is a three day cooling off period for contracts signed at commercial locations.
I think the technicality about the processing is secondary to the issue about cancellation. They may have fully authorized the transaction and your account was mortgaged for the transaction in advance of you trying to cancel.
You should take these issues seriously and consider if the amount you put down is worth paying to get out from the contract if the Louisiana Attorney General office informs you there is no coolling off period for that type of agreement.
The three day cooling off rule is a bit tricky. It does not apply to all transactions.
Some types of sales cannot be canceled, according to the Federal trade Commission, even if they do occur in locations normally covered by the Rule. The Cooling-Off Rule does not cover sales that:
- are under $25;
- are for goods or services not primarily intended for personal, family or household purposes. (The Rule applies to courses of instruction or training.);
- are made entirely by mail or telephone;
- are the result of prior negotiations at the seller’s permanent business location where the goods are sold regularly;
- are needed to meet an emergency
- are made as part of your request for the seller to do repairs or maintenance on your personal property (purchases made beyond the maintenance or repair request are covered). – Source
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