2013 New York Consolidated Laws
GBS - General Business
Article 26 - (390 - 399-ZZZ) MISCELLANEOUS
394-C - Limitations on certain contracts involving social referral services.

 
    §  394-c.  Limitations  on certain contracts involving social referral
  services.  1. As used in this section, the following  terms  shall  have
  the following meanings:
    (a)  "social  referral  service"  shall  include any service for a fee
  providing matching of members of the opposite sex, by use of computer or
  any other means, for the purpose of dating and general social contact.
    (b) "ancillary services" shall refer to goods or services directly  or
  indirectly  related  to  or to be provided in connection with the social
  referral service process, including  but  not  limited  to  photography,
  grooming,  cosmetology,  dating  etiquette,  dating counseling, or other
  services.
    2. No contract for social referral service shall  require  payment  by
  the  purchaser of such service of a cash price in excess of one thousand
  dollars.  Services to be rendered to the purchaser  under  the  contract
  may  extend  over  a  period  not  to exceed two years from the date the
  contract is entered into.
    2-a. No social referral service provider shall require the purchase of
  an ancillary service by a purchaser of a social referral  service  as  a
  condition  of entering into a social referral service contract with such
  provider.
    3. Every contract for social referral service which  requires  payment
  by  the  purchaser  of  such  service  of  a  total  amount in excess of
  twenty-five dollars shall provide that the seller of such  service  must
  furnish  to the purchaser a specified certain number of social referrals
  per month.
    4. Every contract for social referral service which  requires  payment
  by  the  purchaser  of  such  service  of  a  total  amount in excess of
  twenty-five dollars shall provide that in the event that the  seller  of
  such  service  does  not  furnish to the purchaser the specified certain
  number of social  referrals  for  two  or  more  successive  months  the
  purchaser  shall have the option to cancel the contract and to receive a
  refund of all monies paid pursuant to the cancelled  contract  with  the
  exception  that the seller shall be entitled to retain as a cancellation
  fee fifteen per cent of the cash price or a  pro  rata  amount  for  the
  number  of  referrals  furnished to the purchaser, whichever is greater.
  Every such contract shall set forth in the contract and in the  bill  of
  rights  the  manner  in  which  such  services  provider  determines its
  cancellation fee pursuant to this subdivision.
    5. Every contract for social referral service shall provide  that  the
  seller will not without the prior written consent of the purchaser sell,
  assign  or  otherwise  transfer for business or for any other purpose to
  any person any information and material of a personal or private  nature
  acquired  from  a  purchaser  directly  or  indirectly including but not
  limited  to  answers  to  tests  and  questionnaires,   photographs   or
  background information.
    5-a.  Every  contract for a social referral service shall provide each
  purchaser with the unilateral right to place his or  her  membership  on
  hold  for  a  period  of  up  to  one  year; provided, however, that the
  purchaser and social referral service may mutually  agree  to  a  longer
  period  not  to  exceed  two years.   To exercise the   unilateral right
  provided in  this  subdivision,  a  purchaser  must  notify  the  social
  referral service provider in writing of his or her intent to do so.
    6.  Every  contract  for social referral service shall provide that at
  the expiration of the contract or at the expiration of services rendered
  by the seller, for  any  reason,  all  information  and  material  of  a
  personal  or  private  nature  acquired  from  a  purchaser  directly or
  indirectly  including  but  not  limited  to  answers   to   tests   and

  questionnaires,  photographs or background information shall be promptly
  returned by the seller to the purchaser by certified mail.
    7.  (a)  Every contract for social referral service shall provide that
  such contract may be cancelled without a cancellation fee  within  three
  business  days  after  the date of receipt by the buyer of a copy of the
  written contract.
    (b) In every social referral service sale, the seller shall furnish to
  the buyer a fully completed copy of the contract pertaining to such sale
  at the time of its execution, which  is  in  the  same  language,  e.g.,
  Spanish,  as  that  principally  used in the oral sales presentation and
  which shows the date of  the  transaction  and  contains  the  name  and
  address  of  the  seller,  and  in  the immediate proximity to the space
  reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer and in not  less
  than  ten-point  bold  face  type,  a  statement  in  substantially  the
  following form:
  YOU, THE BUYER, MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHOUT  ANY  CANCELLATION  FEE
  WITHIN  THREE (3) BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THIS CONTRACT. SEE THE
  ATTACHED NOTICE OF CANCELLATION FORM FOR AN EXPLANATION OF THIS RIGHT.
    (c)  Notice  of  cancellation  shall  be  delivered  by  certified  or
  registered United States mail at the address specified in the contract.
    (d)  At the time the buyer signs the social referral service contract,
  a completed form in duplicate, captioned "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION", which
  shall be attached to the contract and easily detachable, and which shall
  contain in  not  less  than  ten-point  bold  face  type  the  following
  information  and statements in the same language, e.g., Spanish, as that
  used in the contract:
                                     NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
                                     (enter date of transaction)
                                               (Date)
  YOU MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT, WITHOUT ANY PENALTY OR OBLIGATION,  WITHIN
  THREE  (3) BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THIS CONTRACT BY MAILING THIS
  SIGNED AND DATED NOTICE  OF  CANCELLATION  BY  CERTIFIED  OR  REGISTERED
  UNITED STATES MAIL TO THE SELLER AT THE ADDRESS SPECIFIED HEREIN. IF YOU
  CANCEL,  ANY  PAYMENTS  MADE  BY YOU UNDER THE CONTRACT WILL BE RETURNED
  WITHIN TEN (10) BUSINESS DAYS FOLLOWING RECEIPT BY THE  SELLER  OF  YOUR
  CANCELLATION  NOTICE.   TO CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION, MAIL BY CERTIFIED OR
  REGISTERED  UNITED  STATES  MAIL  A  SIGNED  AND  DATED  COPY  OF   THIS
  CANCELLATION NOTICE TO:
  (Name of Seller)         NOT LATER THAN _______________
  (Address of Seller)                        (Date)
  ___________________
 
    (e) In every social referral service sale or renewal, the seller shall
  provide  each  purchaser  with a clear and conspicuous, separate written
  notice, to be known as the "Dating Service  Consumer  Bill  of  Rights",
  which shall contain at least the following information:
                   Dating Service Consumer Bill of Rights
    1.  No  social  referral service contract shall require the payment by
  you, the purchaser, of an amount greater than one thousand  dollars.  In
  addition, no such contract may extend over a period of time greater than
  two years.
    2.  No  social  referral  service  contract  shall  require  you,  the
  purchaser, to purchase a good or service which is directly or indirectly
  related to the social referral service.  These extra services are  known
  as  ancillary services and, while these ancillary service may be offered
  to you, the law prohibits the seller from requiring  that  you  purchase
  this service as a condition of your social referral service contract.

    3.   If   your  social  referral  service  contract  costs  more  than
  twenty-five dollars,  the  seller  must  furnish  a  minimum  number  of
  referrals  per  month to you. If this minimum amount is not furnished to
  you for two successive months, you have the  option  of  cancelling  the
  contract  and  receiving a full refund of all the money you paid, less a
  cancellation fee which cannot exceed either fifteen percent of the  cash
  price or a pro rata amount for the number of referrals furnished to you.
    4.  Your  social  referral  service contract must specify the distance
  which you, the purchaser, are willing  to  travel  to  meet  any  social
  referral.  No  social  referrals  shall  be  furnished where you and the
  referral live at a distance greater than the distance specified  in  the
  contract.
    5.  The  provider  must  have  an  established  policy  to address the
  situation of your moving outside the area it services. This policy  must
  be explained in your contract.
    6.  If  any  provision  of  the  social  referral  service contract is
  violated, you have the  right  to  bring  a  court  action  against  the
  provider which has violated the contract.
    8.  Every  contract  for  social  referral  service  shall specify the
  distance which the buyer  is  willing  to  travel  to  meet  any  social
  referral.  No  social  referral  shall be furnished by the seller to the
  buyer if either the buyer or the social referral reside  at  a  distance
  further  than  the  distance  specified  in either the buyer's or social
  referral's contracts.
    8-a.  Every  social  referral  service  provider  must  establish  and
  administer  a  fair  and  reasonable policy for the situation in which a
  purchaser moves to permanently reside at a location outside the  service
  area  of such provider.  This policy must be set forth in every contract
  for social referral service.
    9. (a) Whenever  there  shall  be  a  violation  of  this  section  an
  application  may  be  made  by  the  attorney general in the name of the
  people  of  the  state  of  New  York  to  a  court  or  justice  having
  jurisdiction  by  a  special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon
  notice to the defendant of not  less  than  five  days,  to  enjoin  and
  restrain  the  continuance  of such violation; and if it shall appear to
  the satisfaction of the court or justice  that  the  defendant  has,  in
  fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by the court or
  justice,  enjoining  and  restraining  any  further  violations, without
  requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been  injured  or  damaged
  thereby.  In  any  such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the
  attorney general as provided in paragraph  six  of  subdivision  (a)  of
  section  eighty-three hundred three of the civil practice law and rules,
  and direct restitution.  Whenever  the  court  shall  determine  that  a
  violation  of  this  section  has occurred, the court may impose a civil
  penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each  violation.    In
  connection  with  any  such proposed application the attorney general is
  authorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant  facts
  and  to  issue  subpoenas  in accordance with the civil practice law and
  rules, and direct restitution.
    (b) Any person who has been injured by reason of a violation  of  this
  section  may  bring  an  action  in  his  or her own name to enjoin such
  violation, an action to recover his  or  her  actual  damages  or  fifty
  dollars whichever is greater, or both such actions.
    (c)  In cities having a population over one million, the provisions of
  this section may be enforced concurrently with the attorney  general  by
  the  director of a local or municipal consumer affairs office. In cities
  having a population over one  million,  such  local  entities  may  also
  require   social  referral  services  to  be  licensed.  Such  licensing

  requirements  may  be  promulgated  as  are  reasonably   necessary   to
  effectuate  licensure,  provided,  however, that such localities may not
  impose substantive requirements  that  are  inconsistent  with  or  more
  restrictive  than  those  set  forth  in  this section. Any fee for such
  license may not exceed three  hundred  forty  dollars  for  a  two  year
  period.