Georgia § 10-1-415 - Contracts to be in writing; delivery of copy; required provisions; cancellation rights.

§ 10-1-415. Contracts to be in writing; delivery of copy; required provisions; cancellation rights.

Every business opportunity or multilevel distribution contract shall be in writing, and a copy shall be given to the purchaser or participant at the time he or she signs the contract. Every contract or any material incorporated therein by reference shall include the following: The terms and conditions of payment, including but not limited to compensation paid to a participant by the company and any payments to be made by the participant to the company within the first six months of the agreement; A full and detailed description of the acts or services that the seller undertakes to perform for the purchaser or participant, including a specific description of the product or service being marketed; The seller's principal business address. For purposes of this paragraph, a post office box shall not be considered a principal place of business; and The approximate delivery date of any products, equipment, supplies, or services that the seller is to deliver to the purchaser or participant. In addition to the information required in subsection (b) of this Code section, every multilevel distribution contract, or an addendum thereto, shall contain the following: If training of any type is promised by the seller or company, a complete description of the training and the length of the training; If a bond is required under Code Section 10-1-412, the following statement, with all blanks properly filled: A participant in a multilevel marketing plan has a right to cancel at any time, regardless of reason. If a participant will be under an obligation to make any payment after the agreement has been entered into, a statement in ten-point boldface type as follows must appear in the contract or an addendum thereto: "A participant in this multilevel marketing plan has a right to cancel at any time, regardless of reason. Cancellation must be submitted in writing to the company at its principal business address."; and A description of any cancellation rights. Cancellation rights pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of this Code section must, at a minimum, provide the following: If the participant has purchased products or paid for administrative services while the contract of participation was in effect, the seller shall repurchase all unencumbered products, sales aids, literature, and promotional items which are in a reasonably resalable or reusable condition and which were acquired by the participant from the seller; such repurchase shall be at a price not less than 90 percent of the original net cost to the participant of the goods being returned. For purposes of this paragraph, "original net cost" means the amount actually paid by the participant for the goods, less any consideration received by the participant for purchase of the goods which is attributable to the specific goods now being returned. Goods shall be deemed "resalable or reusable" if the goods are in an unused, commercially resalable condition at the time the goods are returned to the seller. Goods which are no longer marketed by a company shall be deemed "resalable or reusable" if the goods are in an unused, commercially resalable condition and are returned to the seller within one year from the date the company discontinued marketing the goods; provided, however, that goods which are no longer marketed by a multilevel distribution company shall not be deemed "resalable or reusable" if the goods are sold to participants as nonreturnable, discontinued, or seasonal items and the nonreturnable, discontinued, or seasonal nature of the goods was clearly disclosed to the participant seeking to return the goods prior to the purchase of the goods by the participant. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this paragraph, a multilevel distribution company may not assert that any more than 15 percent of its total yearly sales per calendar year to participants in dollars are from nonreturnable, discontinued, or seasonal items; The repayment of all administrative fees or consideration paid for other services shall be at not less than 90 percent of the costs to the participant of such fees or services and shall reflect all other administrative services that have not, at the time of termination, been provided to the participant; and The participant may be held responsible for all shipping expenses incurred in returning sales aids or products to the company but only if such responsibility of a canceling participant is disclosed in the written description of the cancellation rights. (Ga. L. 1980, p. 1233, § 6; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1868, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2370, § 5.) "As required by Georgia law, the company has secured a bond or established a trust account for your protection. This bond or trust account can be identified as # ______________ in the name of ______________, provided by the following bonding company or trust company: ______________, which is located at the following address: ________________________ in the City of ______________, State of ______________."; Code Commission notes. - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1992, "#" was deleted following "in the name of" in paragraph (c)(2) and "Goods" was substituted for "Good" in the third sentence of paragraph (d)(1). Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1994, "City" and "State" were substituted for "city" and "state" near the end of paragraph (c)(2). Law reviews. - For annual survey on business corporations, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 61 (2012). For note, "The Georgia Sale of Business Opportunities Act," see 1 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 219 (1985).