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

Missouri's lemon law covers new motor vehicles bought mainly for personal, family or household use, including demonstrators and lease-purchase vehicles sold with a manufacturer's warranty. It does not cover commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles, mopeds, electric bicycles, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles (except their chassis, engine, powertrain and component parts). Problems must be reported during the warranty or within one year of delivery, whichever ends first. A reasonable number of repair attempts is presumed if the same problem has been repaired four or more times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 30 or more working days. The consumer must give the manufacturer written notice, and the manufacturer then has 10 calendar days after the vehicle reaches an authorized repair facility to fix it. If the problem cannot be fixed, the manufacturer must, at its option, replace the vehicle with a comparable new one acceptable to the consumer or refund the full purchase price plus collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for use. If the manufacturer has a qualifying informal dispute program, the consumer must use it first before seeking a refund or replacement.

Missouri's lemon law does not apply to used cars. The Attorney General's consumer guide says the lemon law applies only to new vehicles, demonstrators and lease-purchase vehicles with a warranty; that most used cars are sold "as is"; and that dealers must display the federal Buyers Guide showing whether the car comes with a warranty or is sold "as is -- no warranty." The guide also says there is no state law allowing a buyer to return a car for a full or partial refund.

For a home solicitation sale (a consumer credit sale where the seller personally solicits the sale at the buyer's home and the buyer agrees there), the buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing. Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. Cancellation is by written notice to the seller's address; a mailed notice counts when mailed. The seller must return payments and cancelled paperwork within 10 days, and if the seller does not ask for the goods back within a reasonable time (presumed to be 20 days), the buyer may keep them. The right does not apply in certain emergency situations where the buyer asked for immediate service and the seller has substantially begun work. The Attorney General's guide also notes five days to cancel a timeshare contract and three days to cancel a travel club contract.

The Missouri Merchandising Practices Act makes it unlawful to use deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, unfair practices, or concealment or omission of a material fact in connection with the sale or advertisement of merchandise. A person who buys or leases merchandise mainly for personal, family or household purposes and suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property can sue to recover actual damages. The person must show they acted as a reasonable consumer would and prove individual damages with sufficiently definite evidence. The court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and attorney's fees. Class actions are allowed.

Missouri addresses price gouging through an Attorney General rule under the Merchandising Practices Act. It is an unfair practice to charge an excessive price for any necessity within a disaster area, or for a necessity the seller has reason to know is likely to go to consumers in a disaster area, or to take advantage of hardship caused by extreme temporary conditions by charging a price substantially above the previous market price. "Excessive price" means a price not justified by the seller's actual costs plus its usual profit margin before the disaster. "Necessity" includes food, water, medical treatment, sanitation, construction, repair and transportation. A disaster area is one declared by state or federal authorities and, if no end date is stated, expires 30 days after the declaration.

The Attorney General's consumer guide states that there is no law that requires a retailer to accept returned merchandise, and advises consumers to check a seller's refund and exchange policies before buying.

Credit services (credit repair) organizations may not charge or collect money before fully performing all promised services unless they have a $10,000 surety bond or surety account, and may not make false or misleading claims such as guaranteeing to "erase bad credit," or advertise without filing a registration statement with the Division of Finance. Debt adjusters (debt settlement and debt management) may operate only under a written debt management plan or debt settlement plan; acting otherwise is a misdemeanor. A debt adjuster may not collect any fee until it has settled or changed at least one debt under the plan and the debtor has made at least one payment, and it must make specific written disclosures before the debtor agrees. Fees for a debt management plan are capped at a $50 set-up fee and the greater of $35 per month or 8% of the amount distributed monthly to creditors.

A person or business that owns or licenses personal information of Missouri residents must notify affected consumers of a security breach without unreasonable delay, consistent with law-enforcement needs and the steps needed to determine the scope of the breach and restore the system. Personal information means a name combined with an unencrypted Social Security number, driver's license or other government ID number, financial account or card number with its access code, medical information, or health insurance information. Notice is not required if, after an appropriate investigation, the business determines in writing that identity theft or fraud is not reasonably likely. Notice may be written, electronic, by phone, or in some cases by substitute notice. If more than 1,000 consumers are notified at once, the Attorney General's office and consumer reporting agencies must also be notified.

File a consumer complaint with the Attorney General online, by mail using the PDF complaint form, or in person; there is no fee. Include copies (not originals) of contracts, receipts and other records. The office sends the complaint to the business and asks for a response, and a complaint advocate tries to resolve it through mediation; consumers can expect a first response within about 30 days. The Consumer Protection Hotline is 800-392-8222. The Attorney General cannot act as your private lawyer.

1) Written notice: before using the lemon law, the consumer (or a representative) must give the manufacturer written notice of the need to repair the defect so the manufacturer has an opportunity to fix it. 2) Final repair attempt: the manufacturer must immediately tell the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility of a franchised new-vehicle dealer, and then has 10 calendar days after the consumer delivers the vehicle there to fix it. If the consumer then tells the manufacturer the vehicle still is not fixed, the manufacturer must say whether it has an informal dispute program (unless it already gave that notice). 3) Arbitration: Missouri has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that fully complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), the refund/replacement remedy does not apply to a consumer who has not first used it. 4) Deadline: a lawsuit must be started within six months after the express warranty expires or within 18 months after original delivery, whichever is earlier; if the consumer used the manufacturer's dispute program, within 90 days after the program panel's final action.