Other Consumer Protection Laws

Some of these other consumer protection laws are as follows:

Credit Card Orders

The Federal Trade Commission’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Merchandise Rule covers goods you order by mail, telephone, computer and fax machine.

By law, a company must ship your order within the time stated in its ads, or, if no time is promised, within 30 days after receiving and accepting your order. If the company cannot ship within the promised time, you must be given an “option notice.” This gives you the choice of agreeing to the delay or canceling your order and receiving a prompt refund. If, however, the company doesn’t promise a shipping time and you are applying for credit to pay for your purchase, the company has 50 days after receiving your order to ship if they decide to extend the credit.

The federal Fair Credit Billing Act also protects you when you use your credit card to pay for purchases, whether by phone, mail, electronically, or in the store. If you find a billing error on your monthly credit or charge card statement, you may dispute the charge and withhold payment of the disputed amount during the dispute period. Such an error might be a charge for the wrong amount, or for something you did not accept, or which was not delivered.

To dispute a billing error, you should take the following steps: first, make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute with the seller. If that doesn’t work, write to the credit card company at the special address for “billing inquiries” indicated on its monthly statement. Include your name, address, and credit card number and describe the billing error. Don’t wait to send this letter. It must reach the credit card company within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you. Keep copies of any letters you send.

In your negotiations with the seller, you should be aware that it is a crime under New Hampshire law for a person to listen in on or record the contents of any telecommunication or oral communication through use of any electronic, mechanical or other device without the permission of both parties to the call. Just as creditors are not allowed to record telephone calls to you without your permission, you may not record phone calls to creditors without their permission.

The credit card company must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days of receiving it, unless the problem has been resolved. The dispute must be resolved within two billing cycles (but not more than 90 days) after receiving your letter. If you bought an unsatisfactory product, you may also dispute the charge for that product and withhold payment on the disputed amount during the dispute period. You must pay for any part of the bill which is not disputed. Unless you bought the product from the credit card company, this protection applies only if you bought the item in your home state or within 100 miles of your current billing address and the amount charged is more than $50.00.

If your credit card is lost or stolen, report this to the credit card company immediately. Your maximum liability is the amount of the unauthorized loss or $50.00, whichever is less.

Additional information

• New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection & Antitrust Bureau
• Consumer Complaints at the New Hampshire Department of Justice

Home Solicitation Sales

A home solicitation sale is defined as the sale of goods or services priced at $150 or more in which a seller operates from some place other than a permanent place of business.

This includes a door-to-door salesperson and a business renting a hotel room for a one-day sale.

Unlike a retail sale, you may cancel a home solicitation sale up to 3 days after the sale is made if you send written notice, preferably by certified or registered letter or by returning the merchandise in person within the 3-day cancellation period.

At the time of the home solicitation sale, the seller must give you a fully completed receipt and a copy of any contract or agreement about the sale. This must have the name and address of the seller, the date of the transaction, and a statement giving you notice that you can cancel the transaction. Upon cancellation, the seller must return any payments you have made.

Health Clubs

Every person owning or operating a health club in New Hampshire must register that club with the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau of the New Hampshire Department of Justice every year. A copy of the club’s registration statement must be kept on file at the club for inspection by club members or members of the general public.

The registration statement contains information on the club, its owners, the types of memberships offered, the type of equipment available to members and the number of members in the club. Most clubs must also post a surety bond or other financial security with the Bureau.

Every prepaid contract for health club service must be in writing and must be delivered to you at the time the contract is signed. Certain notices must be made a part of the contract, including a notice that you may cancel the transaction in writing any time before midnight of the third business day after the date of the transaction.

If a health club closes or moves more than eight miles from its original location or if you die or become disabled, the club must give a pro-rated refund within 15 days of a request for the refund.

If you are interested in joining a health club, ask the owner to provide a copy of the registration statement and contact the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau of the New Hampshire Department of Justice (the “Bureau”) at 1-888-468-4454 (toll free) or (603) 271-3641 to determine if the club is bonded.

Check out more information from the Bureau here.