Three-Day Cooling Off Law In response to the fraud so commonly associated with home solicitations, Minnesota has passed laws that protect consumers from home solicitation fraud. The most important of these is commonly called the three-day cooling off law. This law covers anyone offering consumer goods or services away from their traditional place of doing business. This includes traditional door-to-door solicitations and other sales made at temporary locations, such as county fairs or in hotel or motel rooms. Phone solicitations and person-to-person solicitations may also be covered. Sales persons covered by this law are required to tell the consumer, before they say anything else, their name, the name of the company they represent, and the product or service they are selling. It is against the law to misrepresent their identity as a salesperson. They cannot misrepresent the true purpose of the deal or the true identity of the company and they cannot misrepresent the true cost of the good or service by failing to mention additional hidden but required costs. The seller is required to provide a copy of any contract the consumer signs and must give notice of the buyer's right to cancel the contract (if for more than $25) within three business days. To cancel the contract, the buyer must give written notice to the seller within three days. The Minnesota Attorney General's Office recommends that any written notice of cancellation be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested so that the consumer has proof that the cancellation was sent and received. The three-day cooling off law does not apply to real estate, insurance, securities, or motor vehicle sales.
