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

Hawaii's lemon law covers motor vehicles used mainly for personal, family or household purposes, including motorcycles (not motor scooters or mopeds), demonstrators, and certain vehicles also used for business; it does not cover vehicles over 10,000 pounds. The "lemon law rights period" is the manufacturer's warranty term, two years from delivery, or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. A reasonable number of repair attempts is presumed if, in that period, the same defect was examined or repaired at least three times and still exists, a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was examined or repaired at least once and still exists, or the vehicle was out of service for repairs 30 or more business days. The presumption applies only if the manufacturer received the consumer's written report and a reasonable chance to repair. If the defect cannot be fixed, the manufacturer must provide a replacement vehicle or take it back and refund the full purchase price and collateral and incidental charges, minus a reasonable offset for use.

A dealer may not sell a used motor vehicle to a consumer without a written warranty covering the full cost of parts and labor to repair defects in covered parts (engine, transmission, drive axle, brakes, radiator, steering, and alternator, generator, starter and ignition) that impair safety or use. The minimum warranty is 90 days or 5,000 miles for vehicles with under 25,000 miles; 60 days or 3,000 miles for 25,000 to under 50,000 miles; and 30 days or 1,000 miles for 50,000 to 75,000 miles, whichever comes first.

In a door-to-door sale, the buyer may cancel at any time before midnight of the third business day after the transaction. The seller must give a contract or receipt with a bold cancellation notice and two copies of a completed "Notice of Cancellation," must tell the buyer orally of the right, and must refund payments and return trade-ins within ten business days after a valid cancellation. Violations are unfair or deceptive practices.

Hawaii prohibits unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-2). A consumer injured by an unfair or deceptive practice may sue and, if successful, is awarded at least $1,000 or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs, and may seek an injunction.

Motor vehicle repair dealers must be licensed under Hawaii's Motor Vehicle Repair Industry law. All work, including warranty work, must be recorded on an invoice that separately lists service work and parts (and their subtotals and tax) and states clearly if crash, used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts were supplied; the customer gets a copy. Making untrue or misleading statements to induce a customer to authorize repairs, and subcontracting repairs without the customer's knowledge or consent, are grounds for discipline.

When the Governor declares a state of emergency, a mayor declares a local emergency, or an area is under a severe weather warning, any increase in the selling price of any commodity (retail or wholesale) in that area is prohibited; the proclamation may limit this to particular commodities. Documented added operating expenses caused by the emergency may be passed on. The same law limits evictions of residential tenants in the affected area during the emergency.

A retailer or restaurant that sells gift certificates (including gift cards) may not charge service fees, including dormancy or inactivity fees, and any activation fee may not exceed the lesser of 10 percent of face value or $5. The issue date and expiration date must be clearly shown on the certificate (or on the receipt for electronic cards). Expiration must be at least five years after issuance (two years for paper-only certificates); without an expiration date, the certificate never expires. A balance under $5 must be redeemed in cash. Free promotional, loyalty and charity certificates are exempt if any expiration date is shown.

Retail merchants must generally accept returns for refund, merchandise credit or exchange. A merchant may instead choose a more limited policy (refunds only; refunds or credit only; exchanges or credit only; or no returns) by posting a conspicuous sign before purchase. A merchant that accepts no returns must post signs such as "All sales final," and a merchant that limits returns to less than 60 days after purchase or delivery, or excludes certain categories of goods, must post signs saying so.

Debt adjusting for profit is prohibited in Hawaii: acting as a debt adjuster is a crime, contracts for debt adjusting with a for-profit business are void, and the debtor can recover money deposited that was not paid to creditors. It is an unfair or deceptive practice to charge consumers based on false claims of erasing or repairing accurate credit history, to charge for referrals to lenders offering ordinary terms, or to advise false statements to credit bureaus or creditors.

Licensed contractors doing home construction or improvement must, before or when the homeowner signs, explain verbally the lien rights of everyone working on the project and the homeowner's option to require bonding, and must provide a written contract signed by both parties before work begins. The contract must include these disclosures and notice of the contractor's right to try to resolve alleged construction defects before a lawsuit. Violations are unfair or deceptive practices.

A business that owns or licenses personal information of Hawaii residents (in any form, including paper) must notify affected persons of a security breach without unreasonable delay after discovering it, consistent with law enforcement needs and steps needed to determine contact information and the scope of the breach. Notice is delayed if law enforcement requests it in writing (or the request is documented). The notice must be clear and conspicuous and describe the incident and the type of information involved, among other things.

To file a consumer complaint about a merchant, business or licensed professional in Hawaii, call the DCCA Consumer Resource Center at 1-844-808-DCCA (3222). The Office of Consumer Protection investigates alleged violations of consumer protection laws and takes legal action against unfair or deceptive practices; it handles complaints about advertising, door-to-door sales, gift certificates, refunds and exchanges, and more.

1) Written notice: the consumer reports the defect in writing to the manufacturer, its agent, distributor or authorized dealer during the lemon law rights period. The dealer must give the buyer, at purchase, a written notice of the state-certified arbitration program that says written notice to the manufacturer is required before a refund or replacement and gives the address to send it to; the consumer is required to notify the manufacturer only if that notice was received. The repair presumption does not apply unless the manufacturer received a written report of the defect and had a reasonable chance to fix it. 2) Final repair attempt: no separate final-repair step is described beyond that chance to repair. 3) Arbitration: the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs runs a state-certified arbitration program and may contract with an independent arbitration organization. The consumer pays a $50 filing fee and the manufacturer $200; a final decision for the consumer must include return of the $50. A decision is due within 45 days after the program is invoked. If the consumer agrees to binding arbitration, all parties are bound. If the consumer chooses nonbinding arbitration, either party may demand a new trial in writing within 30 calendar days after the award is served; otherwise the award becomes binding. 4) Deadline: any action under the lemon law section must be started within one year after the lemon law rights period ends.