Articles by South Carolina Legal Services

People often think they have 3 days to change their mind on any purchase. It’s often called the right to cancel or the right of rescission. We think of it as buyer’s remorse.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  regulations refer to it as the cooling off rule.

This especially comes up in car sales. Many states just like South Carolina do have laws that will give the buyer the right to cancel on certain types of purchase contracts but it’s very limited. The one most often misunderstood is the car sale. The three day right to cancel does not exist in the purchase of a car or other vehicle. The rule exists because consumers will sometimes get caught up in a persuasive sales pitch and make a purchase they later regret. 

Under South Carolina law there are specific, though limited, circumstances where the right to cancel arises: door to door sales, sale of a health club or gym membership, refinance of a home mortgage and the purchase of a vacation timeshare unit. Let’s take a closer look at these.

1. Any kind of service or product that was sold to you at your home by someone coming to your door and selling it to you is subject to your right to cancel the purchase.  You’re entitled to a full refund if you notify the seller that you are cancelling the sale within three business days. But that doesn’t apply when you bought the item in the store or online and it’s delivered to your home. That is not considered a door to door sale. Likewise, if you go to the premises of the business and you buy it from them there and they are going to deliver it to your house that is not a door to door sale and the right to cancel within three days doesn’t apply.
2. Gym and health club memberships sold in South Carolina are subject to a three day right to cancel. That right of cancellation applies no matter where the transaction purchasing the membership takes place.
3. If you refinance a mortgage on your primary residence you have a three day right of cancellation. That doesn’t include a second home or commercial property.
4. Finally, in South Carolina the purchase of vacation timeshare units are subject to an even longer right to cancel of five days.

The FTC cooling off rule which is essentially the same, provides the three day right to cancel a sale that’s made at your home, your workplace, a dormitory, or a temporary location. Keep that in mind if you go to a sale in a hotel or motel room, convention center, fairground and so on, you do have the right to cancel sales at those type locations. Certain types of sales can’t be canceled, even if they take place in places normally covered by the Rule. The Cooling-Off Rule does not cover sales that are:

• under $25 for sales made at your home;
• under $130 for sales made at temporary locations;
• for goods or services not primarily intended for personal, family or household purposes. (The Rule applies to courses of instruction or training.);
• made entirely online, or by mail or telephone;
• the result of prior negotiations at the seller’s permanent place of business where the goods are sold regularly;
• needed to meet an emergency;
• made as part of your request for the seller to do repairs or maintenance on your personal property (purchases made beyond the maintenance or repair request are covered).

Also exempt from the Cooling-Off Rule are sales that involve:

• real estate, insurance, or securities;
• automobiles, vans, trucks, or other motor vehicles sold at temporary locations if the seller has at least one permanent place of business;
• arts or crafts sold at fairs or places like shopping malls, civic centers, and schools.

How do you cancel?

You don’t need to have a reason for cancelling. You have the right to change your mind.

To cancel the sale, you just need to sign and date one copy of a cancellation form that should have been given to you at the time of the sale. But if they didn’t give you a form you can just write a cancellation letter. The notice needs to be mailed to the seller and postmarked within three business days of the sale. That means weekdays and Saturdays but, not Sundays and federal holidays.

If you cancel the purchase, that seller has 10 days to cancel and return any check you signed, refund all your money and tell you whether any of the products that you still have will be picked up and return any trade-in that you may have provided in a particular sale.

Within twenty days the seller must either pick up any items you have or reimburse you for mailing expenses if you agree to send the items back by mail.

If you did receive the actual goods from the seller before you did the cancellation, you do have to make them available to the seller in as good a condition as when you got them.

If you think a seller has violated the FTC’s cooling off rule, you can file a complaint at consumer.ftc.gov and here in South Carolina you can file a complaint for violations of state law with our S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs and that is at consumer.sc.gov.

The South Carolina Supreme Court updated its Order regarding Operation of Trial Courts during the Coronavirus Emergency on November 23, 2021. The specific Order may be found at Supreme Court Order November 2021.

A few pertinent points about the Court’s Order are as follows:

• Non-jury trial and motions may be conducted using remote technology.
• In person trials and hearings may be conducted if a judge determines it is appropriate and it can be safely conducted.
  • trials will be staggered to decrease the number of people;
  • generally, only the attorneys, parties and witness may attend;
  • remote testimony may be allowed;
  • masks must be worn;
  • remote administration of oaths is allowed.
• Courthouses should remain open to accept filings and payments
  • drop boxes are allowed and the public will have specific instructions and notification;
  • all persons will be screened for fever and must wear a mask.
• Family Court
  • uncontested divorces may be granted without holding a hearing;
  • approval of settlement agreements and consent orders may be done without a hearing;
  • contested hearings in Family Court will be conducted remotely or in person as ordered by the Judge.
• Bench warrants for non-payment of child support and alimony may be executed by law enforcement. The of suspension of those warrants has expired.

SSA has finalized its Online Video Hearing program and sent out letters on December 21^st to every person who has a pending hearing request. These hearings will be conducted using Microsoft Teams; a platform similar to Zoom. Participants in this program must have an email address; a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone; stable internet access; and a private area in their home. SSA does not require an individual to agree to online video or telephone hearings and you retain the right to an in-person hearing. You should contact an attorney or authorized representative before making a decision.  

On November 7, 2020, South Carolina Legal Services collaborated with National Expungement Week, a national nonprofit that provides funding to pay fees associated with expungements, pardons and pretrial intervention, and Path2Redemption, a nonprofit group that provides training and mentorship programs for ex-offenders transitioning back into society. These like-minded organizations came together for an expungement and pardon clinic, “Pardon My Behavior” at the Colony Apartments in Columbia, S.C.  South Carolina Legal Services provided attorneys and paralegals to assist over 50 people in applying to have with their criminal records expunged or offenses pardoned. National Expungement Week provided funding to South Carolina Legal Services’ applicants and clients to pay the cost of SLED checks, expungement, pardon, and court fees.  Path2Redemption provided re-entry mentorship and counseling at the event.

On December 5, 2020, South Carolina Legal Services collaborated with National Expungement Week, Communiversity, a nonprofit that hosts presentations on legal and wrap around serves for ex-offenders, and The Black Liberation Fund, a nonprofit that provides bail and incarceration support to formerly incarcerated persons. Together the organizations facilitated an expungement and pardon clinic, “The Gift of Freedom” at Center Station in Charleston, S.C. South Carolina Legal Services, with 7 attorneys and 2 paralegals onsite for the event, assisted over 120 attendees with applications to have their criminal records pardoned or expunged.

Both of these events highlight the immense need for strategic and targeted collaborations. These collaborations created a “one stop shop”, where qualifying participants received free legal assistance, including free legal screening for additional civil legal issues, payment for expungement and pardon fees and information about mentorship, training and wrap-around services for ex-offenders. These events have created a “referral boomerang”. South Carolina Legal Services is still receiving applicants from both events following these collaborations.

South Carolina Legal Services is seeking to maintain current collaborations and develop new ones that will create a communal network of services to assist a common client base.

To inquire about a possible collaboration, please contact Andrea Loney, Executive Director of South Carolina Legal Services at andrealoney@sclegal.org.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have a devastating impact on individuals who are receiving SSI disability benefits.  SSI beneficiaries who were working and lost their jobs because of COVID-19 may have been eligible for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits; including the expanded federal UI benefits that were available through the CARES Act.

SSI benefits will be reduced or suspended if a participant has earned or unearned income. SSI is reduced $1 for every $1 of UI benefits after the first $20. By comparison, earned income reduces SSI by $1 for every $2 that is earned after the first $85. The enhanced federal UI benefit would have reduced an SSI participant’s benefits to $0.00 when it was $600 a week or $2400 a month, far greater than the $783 SSI monthly payment. The enhanced UI benefit stopped on July 26, 2020 but state UI benefits continued and may have been low enough that it would not result in a loss of all SSI income. The newly passed COVID-19 Relief Act provides for a federal UI enhancement at a rate of $300 per week or approximately $1200 a month. This will also result in a suspension of SSI benefits for anyone receiving it. SSI suspensions for 12 consecutive months could result in the need for the individual to reapply for disability benefits which could be a long process if the individual has to prove that they are still disabled. There is also the possibility that SSI beneficiaries will receive notices that they were overpaid SSI because SSA suspended most overpayment actions from March through September 2020. Individuals who receive notice of an overpayment because of UI income should file a waiver to avoid collection. Finally, Medicaid benefits should not be stopped because of the loss of SSI benefits during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The receipt of UI benefits should not have an impact on SSDI benefits because SSDI is not reduced for unearned income.

With time running out on the eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Congress approved, and the President signed into law on December 27, 2020, an extension of the CDC’s moratorium through January 31, 2021.

The new law did not change the requirement for tenants to provide a declaration to their landlord under penalty of perjury that they meet the criteria for invoking the protection of the CDC’s order.  However, anyone wishing to invoke that protection under the new law should update the declaration to indicate that it extends through January 31, 2021 instead of December 31, 2020. 

Also included in the legislative package was an additional $25 billion for rental assistance.  It remains to be seen whether that assistance will be up and running in time to help people who are protected under the moratorium only until January 31^st.  There is concern that the funds will not be available in only one month.   

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition estimates that South Carolina counties and localities will receive $342,731,000. 

The funds are available only for low-income tenants.  This means tenants at or below 80% of the Area Median Income, with a priority for households at or below 50% AMI.  Eligible households also need to be receiving unemployment benefits or have experienced a COVID-19-related hardship (loss of income, significant expenses, etc.).  And finally, an eligible household must demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

The maximum assistance period is 12 months, with an additional 3-month extension, subject to availability of funds, if necessary to ensure housing stability.  Also, three months of prospective rent payments can be paid in addition to past due payments.  Households that need more than three months of prospective rent payments can re-apply and receive additional assistance if funds are available.

Another innovation in the new law is that it allows landlords to apply for rental assistance on a tenant’s behalf.  The landlord must get the tenant’s signature on the rental assistance application, must provide documentation of the rental assistance application to the tenant and must actually apply the funds to the tenant’s rent owed. 

All the main federal entities that own or insure mortgages announced extensions of their single-family mortgage loan foreclosure moratoriums that were set to expire December 31, 2020.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac extended the foreclosure moratorium on their single family loans through January 31, 2021, while those insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture have been extended through the end of February. 

SCLS has veteran accredited attorneys who can assist low-income veterans and their families navigate through the record request process for VA compensation and VA pension benefits claims. These attorneys are available to share legal information on the benefits process to VA offices and others who serve veterans and accept referrals.

Veteran claims, especially VA Compensation Claims, can be a very record intensive process. An Official Military Personnel File and treatment records can prove a service connection for a veteran’s disabling condition which may be dismissed without those records, particularly in cases where a veteran is applying for benefits long after their separation from service. Applying for assistance early in the claim process can improve odds of success by allowing a representative to help develop a record and present a clear case for the claims. Even with some limits on record processing in place, it is better to make referrals or apply for assistance early.

COVID-19 seems to continue to have a disproportionate effect on the low-income communities served by South Carolina Legal Services(SCLS). This is especially true for elderly and people of color who live in rural communities. Unfortunately, these are also the demographics, that are least likely to understand the value of and how to locate resources to prepare end of life documents.  These documents let family members know loved ones’ wishes about providing medical treatment, deciding who will handle necessary affairs and determining ownership of property at death.

SCLS is looking for and is eager to partner with faith-based organizations, non-profits, civic and social groups and other agencies to educate low-income communities about the value of advance directives and preparation of these documents. To help SCLS help people who need these documents you can:

1. Agree to partner with us.
2. Distribute educational materials to the targeted communities.
3. Assist applicants in contacting SCLS for an intake.
4. Provide a COVID-19 safe location to meet with applicants.
5. Publicize events that will be held in your community.
6. Refer applicants to SCLS.

The Florence Office of SCLS has partnered with and attended The Homeless Connect Event since 2012. This event, with participation from several other groups, provides a one stop shop for services to the low income and homeless community.  The idea behind the event is to have enough services to attract attendees to the event and to make it easier for them to avail themselves of all the services (thereby eliminating obstacles to getting needed help). Intakes for potential clients are done at the event with interviews scheduled shortly thereafter. Because this event was a great success, SCLS wants to participate in and accept referrals from your homeless shelter.

Here is an example of the kind of help SCLS can provide to you. John came to us through our monthly homeless event for help to get his birth certificate. He was born in Taiwan. His parents worked at the embassy.  Because of serious legal troubles, he was estranged from his parents and had been for years. He did not have a valid state ID and could not get his birth record.  He was working very hard on becoming employed and getting services including rehabilitation.  John was born abroad, therefore, the application had to be made through the State Department (DC Consular U.S. Citizens born abroad). This made the process to get the birth certificate much more complicated.  We waited for months and due to the COVID-19 shutdown, it seemed to be hopeless.  As diligent SCLS staff, we continued to work with the Consular over an extended period of time and were able to obtain John’s birth certificate. Our partnership and participation with Homeless Connect allowed John to gain employment and housing.