Can a Oklahoma contractor claim a cancellation penalty on a roofing contract?
Full Question:
Answer:
Since a written contract protects both you and the contractor, put all agreements in writing. The agreement should contain language in the event of a cancellation.
The contract should include the total price, when payments will be made, and whether there is a cancellation penalty. On any home improvement job, you should expect to make a downpayment representing approximately one-third of the total contract price. The amount may be limited by state or local laws. Except for the downpayment, you should avoid making payments for work that has not yet been completed. Instead, schedule additional payments at weekly or monthly intervals or after completion of each phase of the project.
When you sign a home improvement contract in your home and in the presence of the contractor or contractor's representative (salesperson), you usually have three working days to change your mind and cancel the contract. The contractor or contractor's representative must inform you about your cancellation rights orally and in writing and provide the forms to use for canceling. If you need emergency repairs, you can waive your three-day cancellation rights. This waiver is important because contractors generally wait until the end of the "cooling-off" period before starting work.
The law requires a contractor to give you written notice of your right to cancel a contract within three business days of signing it, provided that it was solicited at someplace other than the contractor's place of business (your home, for instance). Use those three days to review your contract again. If something bothers you, don't be afraid to cancel the contract. If you do cancel, by all means call the contractor; but make sure your cancellation is in writing and mailed before midnight of the third day. Sending the cancellation to the contractor by registered mail will give you a record of its mailing date and of its receipt by the contractor. Thereafter, you can work out the problem with your contractor and sign a new contract, or you can get a different contractor, if you prefer.
Oklahoma Statutes Citationized - Title 15. Contracts - Chapter 5 - Extinguishment, Recission, and Other Termination of Contracts - Section 233 - Party to Contract May Rescind the Contract in the Following Cases
A party to a contract may rescind the same in the following cases only:
1. If the consent of the party rescinding, or of any party jointly contracting with him, was given by mistake, or obtained through duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence, exercised by or with the connivance of the party as to whom he rescinds, or of any other party to the contract jointly interested with such party.
2. If through the fault of the party as to whom he rescinds, the consideration for his obligation fails in whole or in part.
3. If such consideration becomes entirely void from any cause.
4. If such consideration, before it is rendered to him, fails in a material respect, from any cause;
5. By consent of all of the other parties; or
6. If the party against whom rescission is sought violates the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, Section 751 et seq. of this title.
Oklahoma Statutes Citationized - Title 15. Contracts - Chapter 20 - Consumer Protection Act - Section 753 - Unlawful Practices
A person engages in a practice which is declared to be unlawful under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, Section 751 et seq. of this title, when, in the course of the person's business, the person:
1. Represents, knowingly or with reason to know, that the subject of a consumer transaction is of a particular make or brand, when it is of another;
2. Makes a false or misleading representation, knowingly or with reason to know, as to the source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of the subject of a consumer transaction;
3. Makes a false or misleading representation, knowingly or with reason to know, as to affiliation, connection, association with, or certification by another;
4. Makes a false or misleading representation or designation, knowingly or with reason to know, of the geographic origin of the subject of a consumer transaction;
5. Makes a false representation, knowingly or with reason to know, as to the characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, alterations, or quantities of the subject of a consumer transaction or a false representation as to the sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation or connection of a person therewith;
6. Represents, knowingly or with reason to know, that the subject of a consumer transaction is original or new if the person knows that it is reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand;
7. Represents, knowingly or with reason to know, that the subject of a consumer transaction is of a particular standard, style or model, if it is of another;
8. Advertises, knowingly or with reason to know, the subject of a consumer transaction with intent not to sell it as advertised;
9. Advertises, knowingly or with reason to know, the subject of a consumer transaction with intent not to supply reasonably expected public demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity;
10. Advertises under the guise of obtaining sales personnel when in fact the purpose is to sell the subject of a consumer transaction to the sales personnel applicants;
11. Makes false or misleading statements of fact, knowingly or with reason to know, concerning the price of the subject of a consumer transaction or the reason for, existence of, or amounts of price reduction;
12. Employs "bait and switch" advertising, which consists of an offer to sell the subject of a consumer transaction which the seller does not intend to sell, which advertising is accompanied by one or more of the following practices:
a. refusal to show the subject of a consumer transaction advertised,
b. disparagement of the advertised subject of a consumer transaction or the terms of sale,
c. requiring undisclosed tie-in sales or other undisclosed conditions to be met prior to selling the advertised subject of a consumer transaction,
d. refusal to take orders for the subject of a consumer transaction advertised for delivery within a reasonable time,
e. showing or demonstrating defective subject of a consumer transaction which the seller knows is unusable or impracticable for the purpose set forth in the advertisement,
f. accepting a deposit for the subject of a consumer transaction and subsequently charging the buyer for a higher priced item, or
g. willful failure to make deliveries of the subject of a consumer transaction within a reasonable time or to make a refund therefor upon the request of the purchaser;
13. Conducts a closing out sale without having first obtained a license as required in this act, Section 751 et seq. of this title;
14. Resumes the business for which the closing out sale was conducted within one (1) year from the expiration date of the closing out sale license;
15. Falsely states, knowingly or with reason to know, that services, replacements or repairs are needed;
16. Violates any provision of the Oklahoma Health Spa Act, Section 2000 et seq. of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
17. Violates any provision of the Home Repair Fraud Act, Section 765.1 et seq. of this title;
18. Violates any provision of the Consumer Disclosure of Prizes and Gifts Act, Section 996.1 et seq. of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
19. Violates any provision of Section 755.1 of this title or Section 1847a of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
20. Commits an unfair or deceptive trade practice as defined in Section 752 of this title;
21. Violates any provision of Section 169.1 of Title 8 of the Oklahoma Statutes in fraudulently or intentionally failing or refusing to honor the contract to provide certain cemetery services specified in the contract entered into pursuant to the Perpetual Care Fund Act;
22. Misrepresents a mail solicitation as an invoice or as a billing statement;
23. Offers to purchase a mineral or royalty interest through an offer that resembles an oil and gas lease and that the consumer believed was an oil and gas lease;
24. Refuses to honor gift certificates, warranties, or any other merchandise offered by a person in a consumer transaction executed prior to the closing of the business of the person without providing a purchaser a means of redeeming such merchandise or ensuring the warranties offered will be honored by another person;
25. Knowingly causes a charge to be made by any billing method to a consumer for services which the person knows was not authorized in advance by the consumer;
26. Knowingly causes a charge to be made by any billing method to a consumer for a product or products which the person knows was not authorized in advance by the consumer; or
27. Violates Section 2 of this act.