Alabama Consumer Protection Laws: Lemon Law, Refunds, Repairs and Scams

Alabama's lemon law covers new or previously untitled motor vehicles bought mainly for personal, family or household use; it does not cover motor homes or vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. The "lemon law rights period" is the first year after delivery or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. A defect that significantly impairs use, value or safety and is reported in that period must be repaired. The manufacturer is presumed to have had reasonable repair attempts if, within 24 months or 24,000 miles, the same defect was subject to repair three or more times plus a final repair attempt, or the vehicle was out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days. If the defect is not fixed, the consumer can choose a comparable new vehicle or a refund of the contract price and collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for use.

Alabama's lemon law applies only to new or previously untitled vehicles. Alabama has no separate used-car lemon law. Under Alabama's version of the Uniform Commercial Code, a seller can exclude implied warranties with conspicuous language, and expressions like "as is" or "with all faults" generally exclude all implied warranties.

A buyer in a home solicitation sale may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing. The seller must give a written "Buyer's Right to Cancel" notice (or the FTC cooling-off notice); until it does, the buyer may cancel within one year of the sale. After cancellation, the seller must return payments and any trade-in within 10 days. A buyer may waive the right only by a separate handwritten, signed statement describing a genuine emergency.

The Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act lists unlawful deceptive acts in trade or commerce. A consumer who suffers monetary damage can sue for actual damages or $100, whichever is greater, or, at the court's discretion, up to three times actual damages, plus costs and a reasonable attorney's fee if successful. At least 15 days before filing, the consumer must send the business a written demand for relief. Individual consumers may not bring class actions under the Act.

When the Governor (or the Legislature) declares a state of emergency, it is unlawful to charge unconscionable prices for the sale or rental of any commodity, rental facility or service in the affected area. A price 25 percent or more above the average price in the area during the 30 days before the emergency is prima facie evidence of an unconscionable price, unless the increase is due to reasonable costs. Courts may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, up to $25,000 in a 24-hour period, and may bar willful, repeat violators from doing business in Alabama.

Residential home builders must be licensed every year by the Home Builders Licensure Board. This covers building, repairing or improving a home (up to three floors and four units) when the cost of the job exceeds $10,000, and residential roofers when the job exceeds $2,500. Homeowners acting as their own contractor on their own home are exempt. Separately, a homeowner who signs a roofing contract to be paid from insurance may cancel before midnight of the fifth business day after the insurer says the claim is not covered or will not cover the contract amount.

A business or other covered entity that determines that sensitive personally identifying information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person, and that the breach is reasonably likely to cause substantial harm, must notify affected individuals as quickly as possible and no later than 45 days after determining the breach occurred. Notice can be delayed at law enforcement's written request. The notice must describe the breach date, the information taken, steps taken and steps individuals can take.

File a complaint online with the Attorney General's Consumer Interest Division, or call 1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7335. Complaints are handled in the order received, and you will be notified by mail when a Consumer Specialist is assigned. Filing a complaint is not a legal action, and the division does not give legal advice.

1) Written notice: before suing, the consumer must send the manufacturer notice of the defect by certified U.S. mail and demand that it be corrected or repaired. The notice is a written statement describing the vehicle, the defect and all previous attempts to fix it. 2) Final repair attempt: if, when the notice is given, the presumption of reasonable repair attempts has already arisen, the manufacturer gets a final opportunity to fix the vehicle. Within 7 calendar days of receiving the notice it must tell the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility, and after the consumer delivers the vehicle there it has no more than 14 calendar days to fix it. 3) Arbitration: Alabama has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that complies with federal rules, the consumer must first use up any remedy under that program before suing. 4) Deadline: any action against the manufacturer must be started within three years after the vehicle was originally delivered to the consumer. A consumer who shows the manufacturer breached its obligations can also recover reasonable attorney's fees.