423.203 Notice to customer.

(1) Whenever a customer has the right to cancel a consumer approval transaction, the merchant shall give 2 copies of a typed or printed notice of that fact to the customer. The notice must:

(a) Be printed in capital and lowercase letters of not less than 12-point boldface type;

(b) Appear under the conspicuous caption: “CUSTOMER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL";

(c) Read as follows: You may cancel this agreement by mailing a written notice to (insert name and mailing address of seller) before midnight of the third business day after you signed this agreement. If you wish, you may use this page as that notice by writing “I hereby cancel" and adding your name and address. A duplicate of this page is provided by the seller for your records.

(2) A merchant who in the ordinary course of business regularly uses a language other than English in any advertising or other solicitation of customers or in any printed forms for use by customers or in any face-to-face negotiations with the merchant's customers shall give the notice described in this section to a customer whose principal language is such other language both in English and in the other language.

(3) The notice required under this section must be delivered either after all the credit cost disclosures have been made to the customer as required by the federal consumer credit protection act and the customer has signed the writing evidencing the transaction, or contemporaneously therewith, but not before.

(3m) Compliance with requirements of federal statutes, rules or regulations governing form of notice of right of cancellation, in consumer approval transactions otherwise subject to this chapter, shall be deemed to satisfy the notice requirements of this chapter.

(4) A violation of this section is subject to s. 425.304.

History: 1971 c. 239; 1973 c. 3; 1991 a. 316.

Legislative Council Note, 1973: [As to sub. (3m)] Allows compliance with federal notice requirements as to form to constitute compliance with the notice requirements of this chapter. This subsection is directed primarily at merchants with interstate operations who are complying with the federal trade commission's recently-promulgated trade regulation on door-to-door sales.

This subsection goes only to the issue of notice. It is preferable not to require interstate merchants to print special forms just to comply with Wisconsin law. It does not accept other portions of the federal rules, such as return of downpayment and repossessing of already-delivered property. These subjects will continue to be governed by Wisconsin law. [Bill 432-A]