523A.602  Consumer recision, cancellation, and refund rights--purchase agreement compliance with other laws.

1.  A seller shall furnish the purchaser with a completed copy of a purchase agreement pertaining to the sale at the time the purchase agreement is signed. The seller shall comply with the following terms:

a.  The same language shall be used in both the oral sales representation and the written purchase agreement.

b.  The seller shall give notice in the purchase agreement of the purchaser's right to rescind after signing the purchase agreement. The recision period must be, but may be greater than, three business days after the date of the purchase agreement. The notice must:

(1)  Be located close to the signature line.

(2)  Be printed in twelve point boldface type.

(3)  State that "YOU, THE PURCHASER, HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESCIND THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT OF THE (INSERT RELEVANT NUMBER, NOT LESS THAN THREE) BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE DATE OF THIS AGREEMENT."

c.  All moneys shall be refunded without penalty within ten days after recision.

2.  Cancellation refund.

a.  A purchase agreement must include a statement that the purchaser has the right to cancel the agreement for the purchase of cemetery merchandise, funeral merchandise, and funeral services upon written demand and designate or appoint a trustee to hold, manage, invest, and distribute the trust assets.

b.  If a purchase agreement is canceled, a purchaser requests a transfer of the trust assets upon cancellation of a purchase agreement, or another establishment provides merchandise or services designated in a purchase agreement, the seller shall refund or transfer within thirty days of receiving a written demand no less than the purchase price of the applicable cemetery merchandise, funeral merchandise, and funeral services adjusted for inflation, using the consumer price index amounts announced by the commissioner annually, less any cancellation penalty set forth in the purchase agreement. The amount of the cancellation penalty shall not exceed ten percent of the purchase price of the applicable cemetery merchandise, funeral merchandise, and funeral services. The seller may also deduct the value of the cemetery merchandise, funeral merchandise, and funeral services already received by, delivered to, or warehoused for the purchaser.

c.  A purchase agreement must include a statement that the purchaser is entitled to a refund of the purchase price of the applicable funeral merchandise adjusted for inflation, using the consumer price index amounts announced by the commissioner annually for any item of funeral merchandise that cannot be delivered to the location specified in the purchase agreement within forty-eight hours of notice of the individual's death, unless the delay is caused by weather conditions or a natural disaster. The seller must return such refund to the purchaser within thirty days of receiving the written demand.

3.  This section does not prohibit a purchaser who is or may become eligible for benefits under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act from making a guaranteed price purchase agreement irrevocable to the extent that federal law or regulations require that such an agreement be irrevocable for purposes of a purchaser's eligibility for benefits under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, as permitted under federal law. The seller of credit sale agreements shall comply with the requirements of chapter 537, the Iowa consumer credit code, and is subject to the remedies and penalties provided in that chapter for noncompliance.

Section History: Recent form

  2001 Acts, ch 118, §37

Internal References

  Referred to in § 523A.601


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