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Notice:  The Personal Emergency Response Agreement [PERS] has been updated.  It now covers stationary unit with tranmitter, mobile pers and option for GPS tracking. This is a single state form, not for nationwide sales.  Comes in Sale or Lease format. You can order the form at www.alarmcontracts.com.  Orders received today for these forms will receive $100 off published price.  Put "per KK" after the price on the order form.
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3 Day Notice Of Cancellation Issues / When Applicable / Electronic Transactions 
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Ken,
    We are trying to get the clear definition of the 3 Day Right of Cancellation.  If the customer reaches out to us and we do a proposal for them to upgrade the system, does the 3 Day Right still apply since the customer reached out to us?  If used in the newsletter please list as 
anonymous.
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RESPONSE
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    I am going to take this opportunity to address sticky issues regarding the 3 day notice of cancellation.
    A  customer "reaching out" to you first is not the critical issue.  Where was the transaction conducted?  If any place other than your principal place of business you have to provide the 3 day notice of cancellation.  So if the customer calls you and you go to the house to get the deal and get the contract signed then you have to provide the cancellation notice.  The cancellation notice is not required when the contract is signed at your office.  
    What if you use electronic contracts?  The procedure is really the same for when the cancellation notice is required.  Can you provide the cancellation notice electronically?  There might be different thoughts, but my answer is no you can't.  Why?  Because the federal law, ESIGN and in the 47 states that have adopted the UETA [NY and IL are 2 states that have not adopted the UETA], does not change substantive rights, including consumer rights.  The cancellation notice requires that 2 copies be provided at the time the contract is signed, and you can't accomplish that with an electronic signature.
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ELECTRONIC CONTRACTS
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    Electronic signatures are permitted by Federal Law, ESIGN.  The law is applicable to all contracts affecting interstate commerce, which is interpreted very broadly.  Additionally, 47 states have adopted electronic signature laws, UETA.  For purposes of the alarm industry [electronic signatures can't be used in matrimonial matters, wills and a few other areas] all of the agreements can be electronic.  There are a bunch of companies that offer electronic contract format [you have to provide the contract form].  These are Clientside, Docusign, EchoSign, RightSignature.  Some things you should me mindful of when using electronic contracts [paper too] are

  • the contract must be available to be read before signing
  • the signed contract must be provided to the subscriber
  • the signed contract must be available to the subscriber [the full form]
  • the contract must be stored in final form
  • you will have to establish that the contract integrity has been maintained and that the storage was tamper proof

    Storage may be in a 

  • data center
  • cloud based storage

    Can a telephone sale be enforced?  Interesting issue.  Technically a recorded telephone conversation where the customer confirms acceptance of the contract is enforceable.  However it is less clear if a telephone transaction would be exempt from the cancellation notice requirement, and it most certainly will not be exempt from other consumer laws that require that a fully executed copy of the contract be provided to the customer at the time of the sale.  Also, all terms of a sale must be disclosed before an electronic signature is enforceable and it's going to be difficult to present all the terms over the phone.  So I am not prepared to give a definitive opinion on this issue.
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