Michigan Laws 445.1204a – Home improvement charge agreement generally
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(1) On or after the effective date of this section, a contractor may enter into a home improvement charge agreement with a retail buyer. A home improvement charge agreement shall be in writing and dated, and shall be signed by the buyer or the authorized representative of the buyer. A copy of a home improvement charge agreement shall be delivered or mailed to the buyer before the date on which the first payment is due under the agreement. An acknowledgment by the buyer of delivery of a copy of the agreement contained in the body of the agreement shall be in a size equal to at least 10-point bold type and shall appear directly above the buyer’s signature or the signature of the authorized representative of the buyer. A home improvement charge agreement shall not be signed by the buyer when it contains blank spaces of items which are essential provisions of the transaction to be filled in after it has been signed. The buyer’s acknowledgment, conforming to the requirements of this section, of delivery of a copy of an agreement, shall be presumptive proof, in any action or proceeding, of the delivery and that the agreement, when signed, did not contain a blank space as provided in this subsection. A home improvement charge agreement shall state the maximum amount and rate of the time price differential to be charged and paid pursuant to the agreement. A home improvement charge agreement shall contain substantially the following notice printed or typed in a size equal to at least 10-point bold type: “Notice to the buyer—Do not sign this agreement before you read it or if it contains blank spaces. You are entitled to a copy of the agreement you sign.”
(2) A home improvement charge agreement shall contain substantially the following notice:
Terms Used In Michigan Laws 445.1204a
- agreement: means an instrument prescribing the terms of home improvement charge sales, whether secured or unsecured, which may be made under the agreement from time to time and under the terms of which a time price differential is to be computed in relation to the buyer's unpaid balance from time to time. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
- buyer: means a person who buys goods and services, or services from a contractor pursuant to a home improvement installment contract, or goods and services from a contractor pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
- Cash price: means the cash sales price stated in a home improvement installment contract, or the cash sales price of goods and services that are the subject of a home improvement charge sale, for which the contractor would sell or furnish to the buyer and the buyer would buy or obtain from the contractor the goods and services which are the subject of the contract or home improvement charge sale, if the sale were a sale for cash, instead of a home improvement installment sale or home improvement charge sale, and may include any taxes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
- contractor: means a person who sells goods and services, or agrees to furnish or render services, to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement installment contract, or sells goods and services to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement, but not in connection with construction of new homes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Home improvement charge sale: means the sale of goods and furnishing of services by a contractor to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement and as to which sale the cash price is stated to be in excess of $300. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
- in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
- month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
- Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
- sale: means the sale of goods and furnishing of services or the furnishing of services by a contractor to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement installment contract in which the cash price is stated to be in excess of $300. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
“A home improvement charge sale made pursuant to this agreement may be rescinded or canceled by the buyer not later than 5 p.m. on the business day following the date of the sale by giving written notice of rescission to the contractor or an agent of the contractor at his or her place of business given in this agreement or by mailing the notice of cancellation to the contractor to his or her place of business given in the agreement by depositing a properly addressed certified letter in a United States post office or mailbox; but if the buyer rescinds after 5 p.m. on the following business day, the buyer is still entitled to offer defenses in mitigation of damages and to pursue any rights of action or defenses that arise out of the transaction.” The notice required by this subsection shall also be given to the buyer at the time of each purchase under the home improvement charge agreement.
(3) The buyer under a home improvement charge agreement shall promptly be supplied with a statement as of the end of each monthly period, which need not be a calendar month, or other regular period agreed upon in writing, at the end of which there is an unpaid balance greater than $1.00 under the agreement, which statement shall recite the following:
(a) The unpaid balance under the home improvement charge agreement at the beginning and at the end of the period.
(b) The cash price of each purchase under the home improvement charge agreement by the buyer during the period and, unless a sales slip or a memorandum of each purchase is attached to the statement, the purchase or posting date, a brief description, or identification of each such purchase.
(c) The payments made by the buyer and any other credits to the buyer during the period.
(d) The amount, if any, of any time price differential for that period.
(e) A statement to the effect that the buyer at any time may pay the total unpaid balance or any part of that balance.