EXPEDITED RULES
(Board of Hearing and Speech)
Title of Rule: WAC 246-828-290 Purchaser recision rights.
Purpose: The rule identifies the recision amount determined by the Board of Hearing and Speech and restates the required language and format of the required purchase agreement used by hearing instrument fitter/dispensers in the sale of hearing instruments.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.35.161.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 18.35.185(2).
Summary: This rule was amended on July 5, 1999, to identify the recision amount determined by the Board of Hearing and Speech and to simplify the required language of the required purchase agreement. The amendment contained an error regarding the recision within thirty days.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: The section as currently written is not in compliance with RCW 18.35.185 (1)(b) which indicates the recision time is thirty days following delivery of the hearing instruments.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Department of Health, Board of Hearing and Speech, 1300 S.E. Quince, Olympia, WA 98504-7869, (360) 236-4917.
Name of Proponent: Board of Hearing and Speech, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: WAC 246-828-290 defines the receipt, disclosure and notice to buyer information that must be provided in the required purchase agreement. The proposed amendments will make the rule consistent with statute. Consistency between the rule and statute will reduce confusion and potentially save consumers money by allowing an appropriate time frame for returning hearing instruments.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: Change in
language will make the rule consistent with the statute. The
statute requires a recision period of thirty days from delivery
of the hearing instrument. Current rule states a recision period
of thirty days from date of signed agreement.
THIS RULE IS BEING PROPOSED UNDER AN EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS THAT WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR THE AGENCY TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, PREPARE A SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT, OR PROVIDE RESPONSES TO THE CRITERIA FOR A SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATIVE RULE. IF YOU OBJECT TO THE USE OF THE EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS, YOU MUST EXPRESS YOUR OBJECTIONS IN WRITING AND THEY MUST BE SENT TO Traci Troutman, Program Manager, Department of Health, Board of Hearing and Speech, P.O. Box 47869, Olympia, WA 98504-7869 , AND RECEIVED BY March 5, 2002.
Robert Nicoloff
Executive Director
The rights summarized in the "Notice to Buyer" must be made known to the purchaser before the contract is executed. The licensee or certificate holder must provide this "Notice to Buyer" in writing to the purchaser. The purchaser must demonstrate knowledge of these rights by initialing each numbered section of the "Notice to Buyer" and by signing his or her name in the appropriate space following the "Notice to Buyer."
Do not sign this agreement before you read it or if any spaces intended for the agreed terms are blank.
You are entitled to receive a copy of this agreement at the time you sign it.
The seller's business address must be shown on the agreement.
Section 1 CANCELLATION - WITHIN THREE DAYS
Purchaser's Initial . . . . . . . . . . . .
You may cancel this agreement within three days, without
explaining your reasons, if the seller solicited it in person and
you signed it at a place other than the seller's business
address.
To cancel this agreement without explaining your reasons, you must notify the seller in writing that you are canceling the agreement. You may deliver the written notice to the seller at the seller's business address. Alternatively, you may send the written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the seller at the seller's business address.
Your written notice must be mailed or delivered by midnight of the third business day after you signed this agreement.
Any merchandise you received under this agreement must be in its original condition. You must return it to the seller or make it available to the seller at the same place it was delivered to you.
The seller must refund to you all deposits, including any down payment, and must return to you all goods traded in as part of the agreement.
You will incur no additional liability for canceling the agreement.
Section 2 RECISION - WITHIN THIRTY DAYS
Purchaser's Initial . . . . . . . . . . . .
You may rescind (or terminate) the agreement within thirty days,
for reasonable cause. This thirty-day period is called the
"recision period."
To rescind this agreement, you must notify the seller in writing that you are rescinding the agreement for reasonable cause pursuant to RCW 18.35.185(1). (Reasonable cause does not include cosmetic concerns or a mere change of mind.) You may deliver the written notice to the seller at the seller's business address. Alternatively, you may send the written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the seller at the seller's business address.
Your written notice must be mailed or delivered by midnight of
the thirtieth day after you signed this agreement delivery of the
hearing instrument.
Any merchandise you received under this agreement must be in its original condition, except for normal wear and tear. You must return it to the seller or make it available to the seller at the same place it was delivered to you.
The seller must refund to you all deposits, including any down payment, and must return to you all goods traded in as part of the agreement. However, for each hearing instrument you return, the seller may keep either one hundred fifty dollars or fifteen percent of the total purchase price, whichever is less. The seller also may deduct any costs incurred in making traded-in goods ready for resale.
The seller must refund your money and return your traded goods, or have them postmarked and in the mail to you, within ten business days after receiving your notice of recision.
You will incur no additional liability for rescinding the agreement.
Section 3 EXTENSION OF RECISION PERIOD Purchaser's
Initial . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you notify the seller within the thirty-day recision period
that your hearing instrument has developed a problem that
constitutes reasonable cause to rescind the agreement or that
prevents you from evaluating your hearing instrument, the seller
must extend the recision period. The recision period stops
running on the date you notify the seller of the problem and
starts running again on the date the seller notifies you that
your hearing instrument is ready for redelivery.
You and the seller may agree to a recision period longer than thirty days.
Whenever the recision period is extended, the seller must provide you written notice of the last date upon which you may demand a refund and return of traded goods.
| Signature of Purchaser | Date | |
| Signature of Seller | Date | |
| Delivery Acknowledgment - Signature of Purchaser | Date | |
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.35.161 and 18.35.185(2). 99-08-103, § 246-828-290, filed 4/6/99, effective 7/5/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.35.161. 91-11-031 (Order 165B), recodified as § 246-828-290, filed 5/8/91, effective 6/8/91; 86-09-064 (Order PL 586), § 308-50-330, filed 4/17/86; Order PL 190, § 308-50-330, filed 5/23/75; Order PL 159, § 308-50-330, filed 2/8/74.]
Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.
Reviser's note: RCW 34.05.395 requires the use of underlining and deletion marks to indicate amendments to existing rules. The rule published above varies from its predecessor in certain respects not indicated by the use of these markings.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.