Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1999 )


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  •                                              July 14, 1999
    Mr. Wayne Thor-burn                               Opinion No. JC-0078
    Administrator
    Texas Real Estate Commission                      Re: Whether chapter 37 of the Business and
    P.O. Box 12188                                    Commerce Code applies to unsolicited telephone
    Austin, Texas 7871 I-2188                         calls by licensed residential service companies to
    consumers for the purpose of selling residential
    service contracts and related questions (RQ-1166)
    Dear Mr. Thorbum:
    You ask whether chapter 37 of the Business and Commerce Code, regulating telephone
    solicitations, applies to solicitations by residential service companies selling residential service
    contracts to consumers.      You also ask whether chapter 39 of the Business and Commerce Code,
    relating to consumers’ rights to cancel certain consumer transactions, applies to such solicitations
    by real estate brokers and real estate salespersons licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission (the
    “Commission”).       We conclude that chapter 37 applies to unsolicited telephone calls made by a
    residential service company for the purpose of selling residential service contracts. However, an
    unsolicited telephone call to sell a new contract to a consumer who held or holds such a contract is
    excepted from that chapter’s requirements dealing with when and how consumer telephone calls
    must be made. We also conclude that chapter 39 applies to residential service contract solicitations
    by a licensed real estate broker or salesperson at a home being listed or shown to a prospective buyer
    if (1) the broker or salesperson is acting as the agent for the residential service company, and (2) the
    purchaser agrees to purchase the services at the home or a place other than the merchant’s place of
    business. However, such a transaction may be excepted from chapter 39 if the parties engaged in
    prior negotiations at a fixed business establishment.
    Residential service companies are licensed and regulated by the Commission under the
    Residential Service Company Act (the “Act”), TEX. REV. Crv. STAT. ANN. art. 6573b (Vernon Supp.
    1999). Under the Act, any person “who issues and performs, or arranges to perform, services
    pursuant to a residential service contract” is a residential service company. 
    Id. 5 4(b).
    A “residential
    service contract” is a contract “whereby, for a fee, a person undertakes, for a specified period of time,
    to maintain, repair, or replace all or any part of the structural components, the appliances, or the
    electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, or air-conditioning systems of a residential property.” 
    Id. 5 4(a).
    The residential service company agrees to provide the services contracted for when requested
    by the holder of the contract. 
    Id. @15(a)(3)(B)(v), (vi).
    Mr. Wayne Thorburn        - Page 2                    (X-0078)
    You tell us that residential service contracts are generally offered by real estate brokers and
    salespersons to sellers or buyers in connection with the sale of a home, but they are also marketed
    by service companies directly to consumers by telephone and mail. We understand that the seller
    of the home typically purchases the contract, usually for a term of one year, for the benefit of the
    buyer and pays the fee from the proceeds of the sale. Thus, the initial contract is not sold by
    telephone or mail solicitation by the service company but by the real estate broker or salesperson
    involved in the sale of the home. After the initial period of coverage, however, the home buyer may
    “renew” the contract. The renewal or sale of a new contract, you tell us, is done by mail and
    telephone solicitation by the service companies. We understand your request is prompted by an
    increase in the direct sale of contracts by service companies to consumers who had previously
    purchased such contracts.
    Your first two questions relate to chapter 37 of the Business and Commerce Code. You first
    ask if chapter 37 of the Business and Commerce Code applies to an unsolicited telephone call made
    by an employee or agent of a licensed residential service company to a consumer for the purpose of
    selling a residential service contract. If chapter 37 applies, you next ask, “what are the rights of a
    consumer and the obligations of a licensed residential service company respecting notice,
    cancellation, and refund of the fee paid for the residential service contract?’ See Letter from
    Mr. Wayne Thorbum, Administrator, Texas Real Estate Commission, to Honorable Dan Morales,
    Attorney General (July 22,1998) (on tile with Opinion Committee) [hereinafter Request Letter of
    7/22/98]. Based on the information provided, we understand the solicitation that you first ask about
    is by the residential service company that had previously sold the residential service contract to the
    seller of a home for the benefit of the home buyer; the consumer being solicited is the home buyer
    and holder of the residential service contract. Additionally, we assume the rights and obligations
    of the soliciting residential service company and the consumer that you ask about in your second
    question are only those under chapter 37. Because the two questions require us to review chapter
    37 in its entirety, we address them together.
    Chapter 37 regulates telephone solicitations. The chapter applies to a person who makes an
    unsolicited telephone call to a residential telephone number to solicit the sale of consumer goods or
    services, extend credit for a consumer good or service, obtain information that will or may be used
    to directly solicit a sale of goods or services, or to extend credit for the sale. See TEX. BUS. & COM.
    CODEANN. $5 37.01(4) (defining “consumer telephone call”), (5) (defining “telephone solicitor”)
    (Vernon Supp. 1999). Section 37.02(a) provides that the telephone solicitor may not make such a
    call unless the solicitor immediately identities himself or herself, the business on whose behalf the
    call is being made, and the purpose of the call, 
    id. 4 37.02(a)(l);
    the call is made after 9:00 a.m. but
    before 9:00 p.m. on a weekday or Saturday and after 12:00 noon but before 9:00 p.m. on a Sunday;
    
    id. 5 37.02(a)(2);
    and, if an automated dial-announcing       device is used, where possible, the call is
    disconnected thirty seconds after it is terminated by either the consumer or the telephone solicitor,
    
    id. 4 37.02(a)(3).’
    ‘House Bill 450, enacted by the 76th Legislature   and effective   September   1, 1999, requires such calls to be
    (continued...)
    Mr. Wayne Thorburn        - Page 3                     (X-0078)
    Certain telephone solicitations are exempted from the tbreerequirements   ofsection 37.02(a).
    Under section 37.02(b), a consumer telephone call is not subject to those requirements if the call is
    made:
    (1) in response to the express request of the consumer;
    (2) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract for
    which payment or performance has not been completed at the time of
    the call; or
    (3) to a consumer with whom the telephone solicitor has a prior
    or existing business relationship.
    
    Id. 5 37.02(b).
    Finally, section 37.03 prohibits a telephone solicitor from charging to consumer credit card
    accounts unless one of the following requirements are met: the seller (1) provides for cancellation
    of services upon notice from the consumer not later than the seventh day after the date the consumer
    “receives the goods or services” and a full refund not later than the thirtieth day after the consumer
    cancels the contract for services not performed or a pro rata refund for any services not yet
    performed; (2) provides to and receives from the consumer a written contract describing the services,
    the total price, the name, address, and business phone of the company and any terms or conditions
    affecting the sale; or (3) the seller is exempt horn federal taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the
    Internal Revenue Code. 
    Id. $37.03 (Vernon
    Supp. 1999).
    Although chapter 37 has been in effect since 1992; we have found no Texas cases construing
    its provisions. However, based on the plain language of the statute, we conclude in answer to your
    first question that chapter 37 applies to unsolicited telephone calls by a residential service company
    for the purpose of selling a new contract. See 
    id. 5s 37.01(4)
    (defining “consumer telephone call”),
    (5) (defining “telephone solicitor”); TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 6573b, § 4(a) (Vernon Supp.
    1999) (definition of “residential service contract”). But the section 37.02(a) provisions dealing with
    when and how the calls must be made do not apply to such calls to a consumer who held or holds
    a residential service contract issued by that company. Section 37.02(b)(3) specifically provides that
    subsection (a) does not apply to a consumer telephone call if made “to a consumer with whom the
    telephone solicitor has aprior or existing business relationship.” (Emphasis added.) Whether the
    telephone calls soliciting the sale of a new contract are made after or before the initial contract term
    expires, the calls fall within the exception of subsection (b)(3).
    ‘(...continued)
    disconnected five seconds after the call is terminated. See Act of May 26, 1999,76th     Leg., R.S., H.B. 450, 5 1 (to be
    codified at TEX. BUS. & COM. CODE ANN. 5 37.02(a)(3)).
    %e   Act of May 26,1991,72d    Leg., RX, ch. 494.5       1,199l   Tex. Gen. Laws 1736.
    Mr. Wayne Thorbum       - Page 4                 W-0078)
    Because section 37.02(b)(3) exempts qualifying calls only from the requirements of section
    37.02(a), however, the section 37.03 restrictions on charges to consumer credit card accounts would
    still apply. Consequently, if a residential service contract is sold by a telephone solicitation, the
    residential service company may not make any charges to the consumer’s credit account unless the
    company complies with those restrictions. Accordingly, in answer to your second question, the
    rights of a consumer and the obligations of a licensed residential service company with respect to
    notice, cancellation, and refund are as set out in section 37.03 if an amount is to be charged to the
    consumer’s credit account.
    We turn now to your next three questions, which relate to chapter 39 of the Business and
    Commerce Code. You first ask if chapter 39 applies to “solicitations of the sale of a residential
    service contract by a licensed real estate broker or salesperson at a location other than the licensee’s
    office, such as at a home being listed or shown to a prospective buyer?’ See Request Letter of
    7/22/98. Baaed on the information provided, we understand you to ask about the sale of a contract
    providing initial residential service coverage when a home is purchased.
    Chapter 39 gives consumers the opportunity to cancel certain transactions. A consumer may
    cancel a transaction subject to the statute before midnight of the third business day after the
    consumer signs an agreement or offers to purchase real or personal property, services, money, or
    credit for personal or household purposes.        See TEX. Bus. & COM. CODE ANN. $3 39.001(l)
    (definition of “consumer”), 39.003 (right to cancel) (Vernon Supp. 1999). It requires a merchant to
    provide a consumer a receipt or copy of a contract at the time it is executed and to include in it
    certain information and forms of notices of cancellation. 
    Id. 5 39.004(a)
    - (c). Additionally, the
    statute sets out the rights, duties and obligations of a merchant and a consumer with respect to
    compensation for services and retention and return of property, 
    id. $5 39.005,
    .006, ,007, and acts
    that constitute violations of the Act and the penalties for such violations. 
    Id. 9 39.008.
    Among other
    penalties, a sale or contract made in violation of the statute is void. Zd: 5 39.008(b).
    Chapter 39 does not limit its application to door-to-door salesmen or contracts made at the
    consumer’s home although originally enacted for that purpose. See Act ofMay 27,1995,74th Leg.,
    R.S, ch. 926, $ 1, 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws 4649 (redefining “home solicitation transaction” to include
    transaction in which merchant engages in personal solicitation of consumer at place other than
    merchant’s place ofbusiness and not only residence); McDaniel Y. Pettigrew, 
    536 S.W.2d 611
    ,614
    (Tex. Civ. App.-Dallas 1976, writ ref d n.r.e.) (discussing original intent). It generally applies to
    any consumer transaction consummated at a place other than the seller’s place ofbusiness.    Section
    39.002 sets out the transactions to which chapter 39 applies and provides as follows:
    (a) This chapter applies only to a consumer transaction   in which
    the merchant or the merchant’s agent engages in a              personal
    solicitation of a sale to the consumer at a place other        than the
    merchant’s place ofbusiness, and the consumer’s agreement        or offer
    Mr. Wayne Thorbum        - Page 5                 (X-0078)
    to purchase is given to the merchant or the merchant’s           agent at a
    place other than the merchant’s place of business:
    (1) for the purchase of goods or services for consideration       that
    exceeds $25 payable in installments or in cash; or
    (2) for the purchase of real property for consideration           that
    exceeds $100 payable in installments or in cash.
    (b) Notwithstanding   Subsection     (a), this chapter does not apply
    to:
    (1) a purchase of farm equipment;
    (2) an insurance    sale regulated by the Texas Department         of
    Insurance;
    (3) a sale of goods or services made:
    (A) under a preexisting        revolving   charge account     or
    retail charge agreement; or
    (B) after negotiations between the parties at a business
    establishment at a fixed location where goods or services are offered
    or exhibited for sale; or
    (4) a sale of real property iE
    (A)   the purchaser is represented    by a licensed attorney;
    (B)   the transaction is negotiated by a licensed real estate
    broker; or
    (C) the transaction is negotiated at a place other than the
    consumer’s     residence by the person who owns the property.
    TEX.  Bus. & COM. CODE ANN. 5 39.002 (Vernon Supp. 1999). “Consumer transaction” for the
    purposes of section 39.002(a) is “a transaction in which one or more of the parties is a consumer.”
    
    Id. 5 39.001(2).
    “Consumer,” in turn, is “an individual who seeks or acquires real or personal
    property, services, money, or credit for personal, family, or household purposes[,]” and “merchant”
    is “a party to a consumer transaction other than a consumer.”          
    Id. 5 39.001(l),
    (3). Lastly,
    Mr. Wayne Thorburn      - Page 6                 UC-0078)
    “merchant’s place of business,” in relevant part, is the “merchant’s main or permanent branch office
    or local address.” 
    Id. 5 39.001(4).
    Sale of a residential service contract on its face partially satisfies the consumer transaction
    definition of section 39.002(a) in that a consumer in such transaction seeks or acquires services and
    goods for household purposes. See TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 6573b, 5 4(a) (Vernon Supp.
    1999) (definition of “residential service contract”). To constitute a consumer transaction to which
    chapter 37 applies, however, it must also involve (1) a solicitation by a “merchant or merchant’s
    agent” and (2) an agreement to purchase at a place other than the merchant’s place of business. We
    address each of these more complex and factually based requirements in turn.
    It is not clear that the real estate broker or salesperson is a “merchant or merchant’s agent.”
    The few Texas cases that have considered the statute, have not construed this term. See American
    Quality Roofing v. Ipock, Inc., 
    730 S.W.2d 470
    (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 1987, no writ) (roof repair
    contract made at consumer’s home subject to statute); Langston v. Brewer, 
    649 S.W.2d 827
    (Tex.
    App.-Fort Worth 1983, no writ) (remodeling contract not subject to statute because parties had
    engaged in prior transaction, consumer contacted merchant, and parties had negotiated contract away
    from consumer’s residence before its execution); Homquest v. Priesmeyer, 
    574 S.W.2d 173
    (Tex.
    Civ. App.-Houston       [lst Dist.] 1978, no writ) (architect contract not subject to statute because
    consumer sought architect’s services and engaged in negotiations away from consumer’s home
    before contract was prepared); McDaniel v. Pettigrew, 
    536 S.W.2d 611
    (Tex. Civ. App.-Dallas
    1976, writ refd n.r.e.) (statute does not apply to real estate transaction contract negotiated by
    licensed real estate broker; additionally, consumers not builders engaged in solicitation). Based on
    the statutory language, the broker or salesperson is not the “merchant” as defined in the statute,
    because the party other than the consumer to the residential service transaction is the residential
    service company. But if the broker or salesperson solicits the sale of the contract, he or she is acting
    on behalf of the residential service company and likely would be considered the merchant’s agent.
    See 
    McDaniel, 536 S.W.2d at 615
    (provisions of statute must be liberally construed to effect its
    object); I OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY248 (2d ed. 1989) (defining “agent,” as relevant here, as
    “one who acts for another”); BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 59 (5th ed. 1979) (defining “agent”
    generally as one who represents or acts for another under contract or agency relation). Whether a
    person acts in any particular case as an agent for another, however, is a factual determination.
    Additionally, to constitute a consumer transaction described by subsection (a), the seller or
    the prospective home buyer must also agree to purchase the residential services at the home being
    shown or at a place other than the merchant’s place of business. Thus, if the home seller or the home
    buyer agrees to purchase the residential services at the home or at a place other than the merchant’s
    place of business, the residential service sale solicitation is a consumer transaction described in
    section 39.002(a). The location where the agreement is given or the contract executed would
    necessarily vary with each case and its determination would therefore require a case-by-case
    analysis.
    Mr. Wayne Thorbum       - Page 7                  (X-0078)
    In sum, a residential service sale solicitation by a licensed real estate broker or salesperson
    at a home being listed or shown to a prospective buyer is a consumer transaction described in section
    39.002(a) to which chapter 39 applies if the following criteria are met: (1) the broker or salesperson
    acts as the agent of the residential service company, and (2) the home seller or the home buyer agrees
    to purchase the services at the home being shown or at a place other than the merchant’s place of
    business.
    But a residential service contract sale that is a consumer transaction under section 39.002(a)
    to which chapter 39 otherwise applies, might be, in certain circumstances, excluded from the
    application of chapter 39 under section 39.002(b).
    A residential service contract sale is plainly not the purchase of farm equipment or made
    under a preexisting revolving or retail charge account. Nor is such a contract the purchase of real
    property. Rather, the contract is for the sale of residential repair, maintenance, and replacement
    services that may result in improvements to realty or in installation ofitems that may become affixed
    to the realty, but it is not for the sale of the realty itself. See TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 6573b,
    5 4(a) (Vernon Supp. 1999). Although we found no cases in Texas or in otherjurisdictions         that deal
    with residential service or similar contracts, we note that home remodeling or repair contracts, which
    also result in improvements to realty or in installation of items that become affixed to a home, have
    generally not been excepted under the realty exception to home solicitation statutes. See American
    QualityRoojing,Inc.,      730 S.W,2d470(roofrepaircontract        subjectto statute); Lungston,   S.W.2d
    827 (remodeling of garage as beauty shop excepted from statute because of prior relationship
    between parties); R. Bauer & Sons Roofing & Siding, Inc. v. Kinder-man, 
    613 N.E.2d 1083
    (Ohio Ct.
    App. 1992) (contract for installation of roof, windows and door not covered by realty exception);
    Crystal v. West & Callahan, Inc., 
    614 A.2d 560
    (Md. Ct. App. 1992) (contract to improve porch not
    covered by real estate exception even though it resulted in improvements to realty). Additionally,
    purchase of a residential service contract is optional and not a condition of the sale of the realty.
    TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 6573b, 5 1 l(e) (Vernon Supp. 1999). Therefore, purchase of the
    service contract is not such an integral part of the real property sale so as to constitute a sale of real
    property.
    A residential service contract is also not an insurance sale regulated by the Texas Department
    of Insurance. The sale in question involves a sale of residential repair services and residential
    appliances and fixtures regulated by the Commission rather than an insurance sale regulated by the
    Texas Department ofInsurance. See 
    id. 5 2(a)
    (provisions of insurance law not applicable to service
    company licensed under Residential Service Company Act; provisions of Act inapplicable to
    insurance company licensed and regulated by insurance laws of state), (b) (Act inapplicable to ‘home
    warranty insurance’ as defined by TEX. INS. CODE ANN. art. 5.53-A, 5 2 (Vernon 1981)).
    While not a sale of farm equipment, real property, or insurance, or a sale made under a
    preexisting revolving or retail charge account, a residential service contract sale may, nonetheless,
    fall under section 39,002(b)(3)(B).   Subsection (b)(3)(B) excludes the sale of services “made after
    negotiations between the parties at a business establishment at a fixed location where goods or
    Mr. Wayne Thorburn        - Page 8                (JC-0078)
    services are offered or exhibited for sale.” Again, whether the parties have engaged in such
    negotiations before the sale of the residential services would vary in each case and its determination
    would therefore require a case-by-case analysis.
    Thus, a solicitation for a residential service contract sale by a licensed real estate broker or
    salesperson otherwise subject to chapter 39, might, nevertheless, be excluded from the application
    of chapter 39 if the parties engaged in prior negotiations at a fixed business establishment where the
    goods and services are offered for sale.
    If chapter 39 applies, you next ask whether a licensed residential company must include in
    the residential service contract the statutory notice and cancellation form required under section
    39.004. Any document pertaining to a consumer transaction provided to a consumer must contain
    a statement, substantially in the form provided by the statute, that the buyer has the right to cancel
    the transaction at any time before midnight of the third business day after the date of the transaction.
    TEX. Bus. & COM. CODEANN. § 39.004(b)(4) (V emon Supp. 1999). Additionally, the document
    must include a duplicate notice-of-cancellation   form setting forth the buyer’s right to cancel within
    the three-day period; the buyer’s right to have any property traded in or payment made and any
    negotiable instrument executed by the buyer returned within ten days of receipt of the cancellation
    notice; the buyer’s obligation to return any goods delivered under the contract; the buyer’s right to
    retain the goods under certain circumstances; and directions regarding what the buyer must do with
    the form provided to cancel the transaction. 
    Id. 5 39.004(c).
    Generally, if a transaction is a consumer transaction governed by chapter 39, the statutory
    notice and cancellation provisions of section 39.004 do apply. A document need not, however,
    include the forms and notices required under that section in certain circumstances.     First, the “use
    of the forms and notices of the right to cancel prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission’s trade-
    regulation rule providing a cooling-off period for door-to-door sales constitutes compliance with
    th[e] section.” 
    Id. $39.004(d). Second,
    a transaction in which the contract price does not exceed
    $200 is deemed to comply with the notice requirements if:
    (1) the consumer may at any time cancel the order, refuse to
    accept delivery of the goods without incurring any obligation to pay
    for them, or return the goods to the merchant and receive a full refund
    of the amount the consumer has paid; and
    (2) the consumer’s right to cancel the order, refuse delivery, or
    return the goods without obligation or charge at any time is clearly
    and conspicuously set forth on the face or reverse side of the sales
    ticket.
    
    Id. 5 39.004(e).
    Mr. Wayne Thorbum       - Page 9                (X-0078)
    Assuming the transaction you ask about is a consumer transaction to which chapter 39
    applies, the residential service contract must include the notice and cancellation form required by
    section 39.004 unless the following requirements are met: (1) the contract includes forms and
    notices required by the Federal Trade Commission’s trade-regulation rule with respect to door-to-
    door sales, or (2) the contract price does not exceed $200 and the consumer may at any time cancel
    the contract and receive a full refund, which cancellation right is “clearly and conspicuously” set
    forth in the contract. See 16 C.F.R. 53 429.0,429.1-.3 (1998) (Rule Concerning Cooling-OffPeriod
    for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations).
    Finally, if chapter 39 applies, you ask “would a licensed residential service company violate
    the Code if it provided a consumer with a cancellation period greater than three days or deleted
    language relating to the sale of goods 7” See Request Letter of 7122198.
    Section 39.003 gives the consumer the right to cancel “not later than midnight of the third
    business day after the date the consumer signs an agreement or offer to purchase.” TEX. Bus. &
    COM. CODE ANN. 9 39.003 (Vernon Supp. 1999) (emphasis added).                Section 39.008(a)(l)(D)
    provides that a merchant may not fail to include in the form of cancellation prescribed by the statute
    “a date not earlier than the third business day after the date of the transaction by which the
    consumer must give notice of cancellation.” 
    Id. 5 39.008(a)(l)(D)
    (emphasis added).
    No Texas case has considered whether providing a cancellation period greater than three days
    violates the above statutory provisions. However, based on the purpose of the statute and its literal
    language, we believe that the provision of a cancellation period greater than three days does not
    violate chapter 39. The statute’s purpose is to protect consumers by giving them at least a three-day
    period in which to cancel a contract executed pursuant to a personal solicitation at a place other than
    the seller’s place of business. Thus, the consumer is entitled to at least three days. Although the
    consumer is not entitled to more than a three-day cancellation period, clearly a seller may choose to
    provide more. Providing the consumer additional protection does not, in our opinion, contravene
    the statute’s minimum protective measures.
    You also ask whether a residential service company would violate chapter 39 if it deleted
    language with respect to the sale of goods in a contract. As discussed above, section 39.004 requires
    that a contract subject to chapter 39 contain a notice of cancellation in the form provided in the
    statute. Subsection (c)(3) of section 39.004 sets out the language to be included in the form,
    including two paragraphs dealing with the consumer’s rights and obligations with respect to return
    of any goods delivered under a contract upon cancellation of the contract.
    Again, no Texas case has considered whether deleting a portion of the section 39.004(c)(3)
    language violates chapter 39. However, we note that there is no statutory provision for deleting or
    modifying the required language. The notice required here is different from that for the deadline to
    cancel. The form in the latter instance gives the discretion to include a date that is later than the
    required minimum three days. See 
    id. 4 39.008(a)(l)(D).
          But there is no similar discretion to
    modify the section 39,004(c)(3) language. Accordingly, assuming a residential service contract is
    Mr. WayneThorburn      - Page   10                (JC-0078)
    subject to chapter 39, we conclude the statutorily required language with respect to goods must be
    included in the notice of cancellation in the contract. Therefore, deleting such language would
    violate the statute.
    SUMMARY
    Chapter 37 of the Business and Commerce Code applies to
    unsolicited telephone calls made by a residential service company for
    the purpose of selling residential service contracts. Accordingly, the
    rights of a consumer and the obligations of a licensed residential
    service company with respect to notice, cancellation, and refund are
    as set out in chapter 37 if an amount is to be charged to the
    consumer’s credit account. However, an unsolicited telephone call
    to sell a new contract to a consumer who held or holds such a contract
    is excepted from chapter 37’s requirements dealing with when and
    how consumer telephone calls must be made.
    Chapter 39 of the Business and Commerce Code applies to
    residential service contract solicitations by a licensed real estate
    broker or salesperson at a home being listed or shown if (1) the
    broker or salesperson is acting as the agent for the residential service
    company, and (2) the purchaser agrees to purchase the services at the
    home or a place other than the merchant’s place of business.
    However, such a transaction may be excepted from chapter 39 if the
    parties engaged      in prior negotiations     at a fixed business
    establishment.
    If a transaction is subject to chapter 39, the residential service
    contract must include the notice and cancellation form as required by
    section 39.004. A residential service contract subject to chapter 39
    that provides a cancellation period greater than three days would not
    violate chapter 39. A residential service contract subject to chapter
    39 that does not include the statutorily required language with respect
    to the return of goods sold would violate chapter 39.
    4 ,c
    Y    sve         trul
    ?
    -.        c-ii-
    JOHN     CORNYN
    Attorney General of Texas
    Mr. Wayne Thorbum      - Page   11          (``-0078)
    ANDY TAYLOR
    First Assistant Attorney General
    CLARK KENT ERVIN
    Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel
    ELIZABETH ROBINSON
    Chair, Opinion Committee
    Prepared by Sheela Rai
    Assistant Attorney General