Chapter 93

Section 55. Notwithstanding sections 51 and 62A, a consumer reporting agency may furnish identifying information respecting any consumer, limited to his name, address, former addresses, places of employment, or former places of employment, to a governmental agency.

Section 56. (a) Every consumer reporting agency shall, upon request and proper identification of any consumer, clearly and accurately disclose to the consumer: (1) the nature, contents and substance of all information, except medical information, in its file on the consumer at th…

Section 57. (a) A consumer reporting agency shall make the disclosures required under section fifty-six during normal business hours and on reasonable notice. (b) The disclosures required under said section fifty-six shall be made to the consumer— (1) in person if he appears in p…

Section 58. (a) If the completeness or accuracy of any item of information in his file is disputed by a consumer, and such dispute is directly conveyed to the consumer reporting agency by the consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall within a reasonable period of time, but no…

Section 59. (a) A consumer reporting agency shall make all disclosures pursuant to section fifty-six without charge to the consumer if, within sixty days after receipt by such consumer of a notification pursuant to section sixty-two or notification from a debt collection agency a…

Section 6. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in trade or commerce, in the course thereof, to lease or make a sale or contract for sale of goods, wares, merchandise, machinery, supplies or other commodities, patented or unpatented, for use, consumption or resale in the c…

Section 60. A consumer reporting agency which furnishes a consumer report for employment purposes and which for that purpose compiles and reports items of information on consumers which are matters of public record and are likely to have an adverse effect upon a consumer's abilit…

Section 60A. A consumer reporting agency which compiles and reports items of information on consumers which are matters of public record, for the purpose of furnishing a consumer report, shall: (a) Maintain reasonable procedures designed to insure that whenever public record info…

Section 61. Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares an investigative consumer report, no adverse information in the consumer report, other than information which is a matter of public record, may be included in a subsequent consumer report unless such adverse information ha…

Section 62. (a) Whenever credit or insurance for personal, family or household purposes, or employment involving a consumer is denied or terminated or the charge for such credit or insurance is increased either wholly or partly or whenever a consumer's line of credit is reduced, …

Section 62A. If a consumer requests a security freeze, the consumer reporting agency shall disclose to the consumer the process of placing, removing and lifting a security freeze. A consumer reporting agency shall require proper identification of the person making a request to pl…

Section 62B. A consumer reporting agency shall not knowingly offer a paid product to prevent unauthorized access or restrict access to a consumer's credit unless at the time of transaction the consumer reporting agency: (i) notifies the consumer of the availability of obtaining a…

Section 63. Any consumer reporting agency, person who furnishes information to any consumer reporting agency, or user of information which willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under sections 50 to 62A, inclusive, with respect to any consumer shall be liable to t…

Section 64. Any consumer reporting agency, person who furnishes information to any consumer reporting agency, or user of information which is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under sections 50 to 62A, inclusive, with respect to any consumer shall be lia…

Section 65. An action to enforce any liability created under sections fifty through sixty-four, inclusive, may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction, within two years from the date on which the liability arises, except that where a defendant has materially and willful…

Section 66. Any person who knowingly and willfully obtains information relative to a consumer from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

Section 66A. Any person who is convicted of knowingly and willfully introducing, attempting to introduce or causing to be introduced, false information into a consumer reporting agency's files for the purpose of damaging or enhancing the credit information of any individual shall…

Section 67. Any officer or employee of a consumer reporting agency who knowingly and willfully provides information concerning an individual from the agency's files to a person not authorized to receive that information shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand d…

Section 68. Failure to comply with the provisions of sections fifty through sixty-seven shall constitute an unfair trade practice under the provisions of clause (a) of section two of chapter ninety-three A.

Section 68A. For the purposes of sections sixty-eight B to sixty-eight D, inclusive, the following words, unless the context requires otherwise, shall have the following meanings:— ''Buyer'', any individual who is solicited to purchase or who purchases the services of a credit se…

Section 68B. No credit services organization, its salespersons, agents or representatives, or any independent contractor who sells or attempts to sell the services of a credit services organization shall (1) charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration prior to ful…

Section 68C. Before the execution of a contract or other form of agreement between a buyer and a credit services organization or before the receipt by any such organization of money or other valuable consideration, whichever occurs first, such organization shall provide the buyer…

Section 68D. Each contract or other form of agreement between a buyer and a credit services organization for the purchase of the services of such organization shall be in writing, dated, signed by the parties, and include the following: (a) a conspicuous statement in a minimum si…

Section 68E. Any violation of sections sixty-eight B to sixty-eight D, inclusive, shall constitute a violation of chapter ninety-three A.

Section 69. (a) As used in this section the term ''multi-level distribution company'' shall mean any person, firm, corporation or other business entity which distributes for a valuable consideration, goods or services through independent agents, contractors or distributors, at di…

Section 7. No provision of this Act shall apply to (a) Any activities which are exempt from any of the federal antitrust laws or the Federal Trade Commission Act other than by reason of the absence of a sufficient involvement of or impact upon interstate commerce; (b) Any activit…

Section 70. In connection with the granting of any loan or credit to be secured by a purchase money first mortgage on real estate improved with a dwelling designed to be occupied by not more than four families and occupied or to be occupied in whole or in part by the mortgagor, a…

Section 71. As used in sections seventy-two to seventy-five, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Audiologist'', a person who is duly licensed as an audiologist in the commonwealth according to the requirements set forth in chapter one hundred and …

Section 72. No person shall enter into a contract for the sale of or sell a hearing aid unless within the preceding six months the prospective purchaser has obtained a medical clearance. No person shall enter into a contract for the sale of or sell a hearing aid to a person under…

Section 73. No physician or otolaryngologist shall sell hearing aids or have a direct or indirect membership, employment, co-ownership, or proprietary interest in or with a business which sells hearing aids to, a person to whom such physician or otolaryngologist has provided serv…

Section 74. Every person who sells a hearing aid shall accompany such sale with a receipt that shall include: the name, address and signature of the purchaser; the date of consummation of the sale; the name and address of the regular place of business and the signature of the sel…

Section 75. Violations of the provisions of sections seventy-two to seventy-four, inclusive, in the course of a sale of a hearing aid shall void such sale. Violations of any of the provisions of sections seventy-two to seventy-four, inclusive, shall constitute an unfair and decep…

Section 76. (a) The following terms, as used in this section, shall have the following meanings: ''Continuing care'', the furnishing to an individual, other than an individual related by consanguinity or affinity to the person furnishing such care, of board and lodging together w…

Section 78. For purposes of sections 78A to 88, inclusive, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:— ''Buyer'', any person who enters into a contract for health club services with a health club. ''Contract for health club services'', a contract which has t…

Section 78A. A health club shall have on the premises at least 1 AED, as defined in section 12V1/2 of chapter 112, and shall have in attendance during staffed business hours at least 1 employee or authorized volunteer as an AED provider, as defined in said section 12V1/2 of said …

Section 79. Prior to the execution of any contract for health club services and for a period of five years after initially commencing operation of a health club, every seller which sells contracts for health club services, except weight loss and control services which do not prov…

Section 8. Whenever the attorney general has reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any act or practice prohibited by this act, he may, prior to the commencement of any civil or criminal action as provided for by this …

Section 80. No contract for health club services shall be for a term measured by the life of the buyer. No contract for health club services shall be for a term longer than thirty-six months, except that upon expiration of the contract, the seller may offer to the buyer the right…

Section 81. Every contract for health club services shall provide clearly and conspicuously in writing that such contract may be cancelled within three business days after the date of receipt by the buyer of a copy of the written contract or written receipt indicating the buyer's…

Section 82. Every contract for health club services shall provide clearly and conspicuously in writing that after the expiration of the three day period for cancellation as provided in section eighty-one, in the event of the buyer's death, the buyer's estate may cancel the contra…

Section 83. No assignee or creditor who takes a note or other obligation as consideration for a contract for health club services shall fail to honor the consumer's right of cancellation as provided in section eighty-one or eighty-two. No assignee of a contract shall fail to give…

Section 84. It is hereby declared to be an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of chapter ninety-three A for a seller, or his agents, employees or other representatives to: This section shall not be construed to prevent other acts or practices of a seller from being …

Section 85. Any contract for health club services which does not comply with the applicable provisions of this chapter shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy. Any waiver by the buyer of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed void and unenforceable by…

Section 86. Any buyer who has suffered any injury as a result of a violation of sections seventy-eight to eighty-eight, inclusive, or the attorney general, may bring an action for recovery of damages or other relief, including injunctive relief, multiple damages and attorney's fe…

Section 87. Any seller or his assignees who violates any provision of sections seventy-eight to eighty-eight, inclusive, or who shall counsel, aid or abet such violation shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five hundred dollars for each such violation. The …

Section 88. In addition to other remedies provided herein, the attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the commonwealth to enforce the bonding provisions of section seventy-nine.

Section 89. No person who owns or operates a retail establishment selling clothing shall maintain in a dressing room a two-way mirror or electronic video camera or a similar device capable of filming or projecting an image of a person inside such dressing room. Whoever violates t…

Section 9. The attorney general may bring a civil action in the name of the commonwealth to prevent and restrain violations of section four, five or six of this chapter; as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in the commonwealth, to secure monetary relief for dam…

Section 90. For the purposes of sections ninety to ninety-three, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Consumer lease'', a contract in the form of a lease or bailment for the use of personal property by a natu…

Section 91. Each lessor shall give to the lessee prior to the execution of the lease a dated written statement on which the lessor and lessee are identified, setting out accurately and in a clear and conspicuous manner the following information with respect to such lease, as appl…