Notwithstanding the terms of any franchise, a franchisor shall not:
(1) Require any franchisee to meet unreasonable mandatory minimum sales volume requirements for fuel or other products;
(2) Alter the franchise premises during the effective term of the franchise without the consent of the franchisee. This subsection does not apply to alterations required by law;
(3) Interfere with any franchisee’s right to assistance of counsel on any matter or to join or be active in any trade association;
(4) Set or compel, directly or indirectly, the retail price at which the franchisee sells motor fuel or other products; and
(5)(a) With respect to credit cards issued by the franchisor, chargeback any credit card invoice to a motor fuel franchisee unless the franchisor provides the cardholder’s last-known address, the reason for chargeback, a refund or credit for any credit card handling fee collected on the transaction by the franchisor from the franchisee, and the original invoice of the credit card charge or the legal equivalent if the franchisor has previously received the invoice or a copy thereof. The cardholder’s address need not be provided if the chargeback is based on any alleged unlawful, fraudulent or deceptive act of the franchisee or an employee of the franchisee, or if the cardholder claims no legal responsibility for payment of the charge because it involved the unauthorized use of a credit card.
(b) The terms and conditions governing a motor fuel franchisee’s acceptance of a franchisor issued credit card, including the reasons for which a chargeback may be made, shall be established in writing and a copy thereof provided to the franchisee. The franchisor or its agent shall provide at least 30 days’ prior written notice to a franchisee before implementing any change to previously disclosed terms and conditions if such change may increase the franchisee’s cost of accepting the franchisor issued credit card or if such change adds to or amends the reasons for which a chargeback may occur.
(c) No credit card invoice for a franchisor issued credit card shall be charged back after 90-days from the date a charge invoice was submitted to the franchisor, except that a chargeback may be made beyond the 90-day period if the cardholder or franchisor alleges fraudulent or other unlawful actions by the franchisee or an employee thereof in making the sale, or if the cardholder refuses payment to the franchisor pursuant to rights granted under §170 of the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1666i), or any rule issued under §5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 46), unless the cardholder’s refusal to pay is the fault of the franchisor. [1987 c.917 §5]
Section: Previous 650.158 650.160 650.162 650.165 650.167 650.170 650.200 650.205 650.210 650.215 650.220 650.225 650.230 650.235 650.240 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008