Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) It shall be a deceptive act or practice
in connection with a consumer transaction involving the performance of either
repairs or any service upon a motor vehicle where the anticipated cost exceeds
fifty dollars and there has been face to face contact
at the supplier's place of business during the hours such repairs or services
are offered, between the consumer or his representative and the supplier or his
representative, prior to the commencement of the repair or service for a
supplier to:
(1) Fail, at the time of the
initial face to face contact and prior to the commencement of any repair or
service, to provide the consumer with a form which indicates the date, the
identity of the supplier, the consumer's name and telephone number, the
reasonably anticipated completion date and, if requested by the consumer, the
anticipated cost of the repair or service. The form shall also clearly and
conspicuously contain the following disclosures in substantially the following
language:
"Estimate You have the right to an estimate if the expected
cost of repairs or services will be more than fifty
dollars. Initial your choice:
_____ written estimate
_____ oral estimate
_____ no estimate"
(2) Fail to post a sign in a conspicuous
place within that area of the supplier's place of business to which consumers
requesting any repair or service are directed by the supplier or to give the
consumer a separate form at the time of the initial face to face contact and
prior to the commencement of any repair or service which clearly and
conspicuously contains the following language:
"Notice
If the expected cost of a repair or service is more than
fifty
dollars, you have the right to receive a written estimate, oral estimate,
or you can choose to receive no estimate before we begin work. Your bill will
not be higher than the estimate by more than ten per cent unless you approve a
larger amount before repairs are finished. Ohio law requires us to give you a
form so that you can choose either a written, oral, or no estimate."
(3) Fail, where a consumer
requests a written estimate of the anticipated cost of repairs or services, to
make a bona fide effort during the initial face to face contact to provide the
written estimate on the form required by paragraph (A)(1) of this
rule;
(4) Fail, where a consumer
requests a written or oral estimate, to give the estimate to the consumer
before commencing the repair or service.
(B) It shall be a deceptive act or practice
in connection with a consumer transaction involving the performance of either
repairs or any service upon a motor vehicle where there has not been face to
face contact between the consumer or his representative and the supplier or his
representative prior to the commencement of the repair or service for a
supplier to:
(1) Fail to make available to the
consumer who makes a supplier-authorized delivery of a motor vehicle for repair
or service at the supplier's place of business during non-business hours of the
repair or service facility, a form in duplicate, with instructions directing
the consumer to retain a copy, which indicates the identity of the supplier and
contains the following disclosures in substantially the following language:
"Estimate
You have the right to an estimate of the cost of repairs or
services which you are requesting. Your bill will not be higher than the
estimate by more than ten per cent unless you approve a larger amount before
repairs are finished. You can choose the kind of estimate you want to receive
by signing your name under one of the following choices and indicating a
telephone number where you can be reached if necessary:
(a) Written estimate
_________________________
(Customer Signature)
(b) Oral estimate
_________________________
(Customer Signature)
(c) No estimate
_________________________
(Customer Signature)
Customer Name _____________________________
Customer Telephone Number __________________
Date: ______________________________________ "
(2) Fail in all other
instances, upon the first contact with the consumer, to inform the consumer of
the right to receive a written or oral estimate of the anticipated cost of the
repair or service;
(3) Fail, where
the consumer requests an oral estimate, to give the oral estimate to the
consumer before commencing the repair or service;
(4) Fail, where the consumer requests a
written estimate, to prepare a written estimate, inform the consumer that the
estimate is available, and upon the consumer's request, give the estimate to
the consumer before commencing the repair or service.
(C) In any consumer transaction involving the
performance of any repair or service upon a motor vehicle it shall be a
deceptive act or practice for a supplier to:
(1) Make the performance of any repair or
service contingent upon a consumer's waiver of any rights provided for in this
rule;
(2) Fail, where an estimate
has been requested by a consumer, to obtain oral or written authorization from
the consumer for the anticipated cost of any additional, unforeseen, but
necessary repairs or services when the cost of those repairs or services
amounts to ten per cent or more (excluding tax) of the original
estimate;
(3) Fail, where the
anticipated cost of a repair or service is less than fifty
dollars and an estimate has not been given to the consumer, to obtain oral or
written authorization from the consumer for the anticipated cost of any
additional, unforeseen, but necessary repairs or services when the total cost
of the repairs or services, if performed, will exceed
fifty dollars;
(4) Fail to disclose prior to acceptance of
any motor vehicle for inspection, repair, or service, that in the event the
consumer authorizes commencement but does not authorize completion of a repair
or service, that a charge will be imposed for disassembly, reassembly, or
partially completed work. Any charge so imposed must be directly related to the
actual amount of labor or parts involved in the inspection, repair, or
service;
(5) Charge for any repair
or service which has not been authorized by the consumer;
(6) Fail to disclose upon the first contact
with the consumer that any charge not directly related to the actual
performance of the repair or service will be imposed by the supplier whether or
not repairs or services are performed;
(7) Fail to disclose upon the first contact
with a consumer the basis upon which a charge will be imposed for towing the
motor vehicle if that service will be performed;
(8) Represent that repairs or services are
necessary when such is not the fact;
(9) Represent that repairs have been made or
services have been performed when such is not the fact;
(10) Represent that a motor vehicle or any
part thereof which is being inspected or diagnosed for a repair or service is
in a dangerous condition, or that the consumer's continued use of it may be
harmful, when such is not the fact;
(11) Materially understate or misstate the
estimated cost of the repair or service;
(12) Fail to provide the consumer with a
written itemized list of repairs performed or services rendered, including a
list of parts or materials and a statement of whether they are used,
remanufactured or rebuilt, if not new, and the cost thereof to the consumer,
the amount charged for labor, and the identity of the individual performing the
repair or service;
(13) Fail to
tender to the consumer any replaced parts, unless the parts are to be rebuilt
or sold by the supplier, or returned to the manufacturer in connection with
warranted repairs or services, and such intended reuse or return is made known
to the consumer prior to commencing any repair or service;
(14) Fail to provide to the consumer upon his
request a written, itemized receipt for any motor vehicle or part thereof that
is left with, or turned over to, the supplier for repair or service. Such
receipt shall include:
(a) The identity of the
supplier which will perform the repair or service;
(b) The name and signature of the supplier or
a representative who actually accepts the motor vehicle or any part
thereof;
(c) A description
including make and model number or such other features as will reasonably
identify the motor vehicle or any part thereof to be repaired or
serviced;
(d) The date on which the
motor vehicle or any part thereof was left with or turned over to the
supplier.
(15) Fail, at
the time of the signing or initialing of any document by a consumer, to provide
the consumer with a copy of the document;
(16) Fail to disclose to the consumer prior
to the commencement of any repair or service, that any part of the repair or
service will be performed by a person other than the supplier or his employees,
if the supplier disclaims any warranty of the repair or service performed by
that person. In addition the supplier shall disclose the nature of the repair
or service which that person will perform, and if requested by the consumer,
the identity of that person.
(17)
Fail to inform the consumer, prior to the performance of any repair or service,
that part(s) to be used in effectuating the repair or service will be
remanufactured, rebuilt, or used.
(D) The forms required by paragraphs (A)(1)
and (B)(1) of this rule may be separate or may be incorporated into another
form used by the supplier as long as the required disclosures are easily
legible and clearly and conspicuously appear on the form. Nothing in this rule
shall preclude a supplier from incorporating into the same form additional
disclosures required by this rule.
(E) The sign or form required by paragraph
(A)(2) of this rule shall be printed in such a size and manner so that the
notice is easily legible. Additional disclosures required by this rule may be
incorporated into the sign or form so long as the language required by
paragraph (A)(2) of this rule prominently appears as the first listed
disclosure. Where a supplier gives written estimates to consumers prior to the
commencement of any repair or service regardless of the anticipated cost of
repairs or services, the language in the form required by paragraph (A)(1) of
this rule and the sign or form required by paragraph (A)(2) of this rule may be
modified to disclose that fact.
(F)
In lieu of complying with the requirements of paragraphs (A)(1) and (B)(1) to
(B)(4) of this rule, a supplier may provide a consumer, prior to the
commencement of any repair or service, with a written quotation of the price at
which the repair or service will be performed, which shall indicate that the
quotation shall be binding upon the supplier for a period of five days,
provided that the subject of the consumer transaction is made available to the
supplier for the repair or service within that period.
(G) For purposes of paragraph (B)(1) of this
rule, a supplier has not authorized delivery of a motor vehicle during
non-business hours of the repair or service facility where there has not been
communication of that fact to the general public by the supplier or the
supplier's representative.
(H) As
used in this rule, "motor vehicle" shall have the same meaning as that term is
defined in division (B) of section
4501.01 of the Revised
Code.
(I) Any written disclosure
required by this rule must be legible.
(J) The provisions of rule 109:4-3-05 of the Administrative Code shall have no application to consumer transactions involving the performance of either repairs or any service upon a motor vehicle.
