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

Oregon's lemon law covers new passenger motor vehicles bought or leased in Oregon (or bought elsewhere and registered in Oregon) for personal, family or household use, including motorcycles and motor homes (but not their living-quarters components). The consumer must report each defect during the first two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first, and the manufacturer must receive direct written notice and a chance to fix it. If a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use, market value or safety is not fixed after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or take it back and refund the full purchase or lease price and collateral charges, minus a use allowance. A reasonable number of attempts is presumed, within the two-year/24,000-mile period, if the same defect was repaired three or more times and continues, the vehicle was out of service 30 or more calendar days (60 for a motor home), or a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was subject to repair at least once plus a final attempt. If the manufacturer has a qualifying informal dispute program, the consumer must use it first; its decision binds the manufacturer but not the consumer. A court may award attorney fees and, if the manufacturer did not act in good faith, up to three times damages (capped at $50,000 above the refund or replacement).

A buyer may cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after signing a compliant agreement or paying. A home solicitation sale is a sale, lease or rental of goods or services that the seller personally solicits (even if the buyer invited the seller) where the buyer's written agreement is made somewhere other than the seller's place of business, such as the buyer's home or workplace or a hotel room or other temporary location. Notice of cancellation must be written and is effective when mailed. The written agreement must state the buyer's right to cancel. The right does not apply if the buyer, in a separate signed writing not provided by the seller, asked for immediate emergency service and waived the right, and the seller has substantially begun work. The Department of Justice notes there is no 3-day right to cancel a car purchase or lease.

Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act lists prohibited business practices, most involving some form of deception or misrepresentation by the seller, and the Attorney General is its primary enforcer. A person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property because of another's willful use of an unlawful practice may sue for actual damages or $200 in statutory damages, whichever is greater; the court or jury may also award punitive damages, and the court may award a winning plaintiff reasonable attorney fees. The plaintiff must mail a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General.

A vehicle repair shop must prepare a written estimate before starting work, describing the work, breaking it into tasks, and listing estimated labor, parts, incidental charges and total cost; the owner must get a copy no later than before final payment. If the estimate shows that diagnosis, disassembly or repair will cost more than $200, the shop must get the owner's separate authorization (signed, by phone, or by fax or email) first, and it must also get authorization before any change that raises the cost by more than 10% or $200, whichever is less. A shop may not charge for work not performed, may not install used parts when the estimate said new parts, and may not knowingly install used or reconditioned parts without telling the owner. Shops must keep copies of these records for at least one year.

When the Governor declares an abnormal disruption of the market (for example, as part of a state of emergency), merchants and wholesalers may not sell or offer essential consumer goods or services at an unconscionably excessive price in the covered area. A price that is 15% or more above the seller's own price just before or during the declaration, or 15% or more above the price readily available from others in the area, is prima facie evidence of a violation, unless the increase is due to higher supplier costs or other increased costs. Essential goods and services include items such as food, water, gasoline, shelter like hotel rooms, and residential construction materials or labor. The declaration ends automatically after 30 days unless the Governor extends it, and the Legislature has declared such pricing subject to regulation as an unlawful trade practice.

A gift card generally may not be sold with an expiration date, a value that declines over time or with non-use, or any fee (such as inactivity, maintenance or service fees). Once a card has been used at least once and its balance falls below $5, the cardholder must be allowed to redeem it for cash, with exceptions for donated or promotional cards, telecommunications-provider cards and cards redeemed to an online account. A card may carry an expiration date only if it is sold below face value, the expiration date is printed on it, and it does not expire until at least 30 days after sale.

Debt management service providers must register with the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. Under Oregon law this covers businesses paid to distribute a consumer's money to creditors, improve or preserve a credit record or rating (credit repair), modify loan terms, or negotiate debt reductions (debt settlement). Fees are capped: for example, an initial fee of no more than $50, monthly fees for handling funds of 15% of the funds received but no more than $65 a month, a settlement fee of 7.5% of the debt reduction actually obtained, and credit-improvement-only services of no more than $50 a month. If a provider charges more than allowed, the consumer may void the contract and get back everything paid plus reasonable attorney fees.

Anyone who works or bids as a contractor must have a current license from the Construction Contractors Board. A contractor may not construct, improve or repair a residential structure for a property owner without a written contract if the price exceeds $2,000 (a contract that grows past $2,000 must be put in writing within five days). A property owner who signs an initial written residential construction contract may cancel it in writing before midnight at the end of the next business day, unless both sides agreed that work would begin sooner or the contractor has substantially begun work. The Board may place a contractor on probation for taking a deposit of more than 50% of a home improvement contract price and then failing to perform.

A business or other covered entity that experiences a breach of security involving Oregon residents' personal information must notify the affected consumers in the most expeditious manner possible, without unreasonable delay, and no later than 45 days after discovering the breach (delay is allowed only at a law enforcement agency's written request). It must also notify the Attorney General if more than 250 consumers are affected, and the national credit bureaus if more than 1,000 are affected. Vendors must tell the business they work for within 10 days. The notice must describe the breach, its approximate date, the type of information involved, contact information, and advice on reporting identity theft.

Consumers can file a complaint online with the Oregon Department of Justice or call the Attorney General's Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392, which is staffed by volunteers. The Department also offers a searchable Consumer Complaints Database showing previous complaints against companies.

1) Report each defect to the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer for repair within two years after original delivery or before the odometer reaches 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. 2) Written notice: the remedy is available only if the manufacturer has received direct written notice from or on behalf of the consumer and had an opportunity to correct the defect. A request for the manufacturer's informal dispute procedure counts as notice. For a defect likely to cause death or serious injury, the repair presumption can apply after one repair plus a final repair attempt by the manufacturer. 3) Arbitration: if the manufacturer has or takes part in an informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. part 703) and has the consumer notified of it, the consumer must use it first before the refund-or-replacement remedy applies. A decision from that procedure binds the manufacturer but not the consumer. The Oregon Department of Justice may review the manufacturer's case records. The law does not create a state-run arbitration program or set a consumer fee. 4) Deadline to sue: a lawsuit must be filed within one year after the earliest of: the date the mileage reaches 24,000 miles, the end of the two-year period after original delivery, or the end of any extension for war, strike or natural disaster.