Georgia Code
Part 2 - Fair Business Practices Act
§ 10-1-393. Unfair or Deceptive Practices in Consumer Transactions Unlawful; Examples

The provisions of this agreement have been fully explained to me and I understand that the services to be provided under this agreement by the seller do not include actual job placement.”
The statement shall be signed by both the consumer and the authorized representative of the seller;
Click to view
“The provisions of this agreement have been fully explained to me. I understand that under this agreement I am selling my house to the other undersigned party.”
This statement shall be signed by the debtor and the buyer;
Click to view
The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply where the party making the representations is in compliance with paragraph (16) of this subsection;
Nothing in this subparagraph prohibits advertising by a personal care home or assisted living community for services authorized by the Department of Community Health under a waiver or variance pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 31-2-7.
For purposes of this paragraph, “personal care” means protective care and watchful oversight of a resident who needs a watchful environment but who does not have an illness, injury, or disability which requires chronic or convalescent care including medical and nursing services, and “assisted living care” includes services provided for in Code Section 31-7-12.2. The provisions of this paragraph shall be enforced following consultation with the Department of Community Health which shall retain primary responsibility for issues relating to licensure of any individual or facility providing personal care services;
(29.1) With respect to any credit card issuer:
For purposes of this paragraph, the term “home health agency” shall have the same definition as contained in Code Section 31-7-150, as now or hereafter amended. The provisions of this paragraph shall be enforced by the Attorney General;
(30.1) Failing to comply with the following provisions in connection with a contract for health care services between a physician and an insurer which offers a health benefit plan under which such physician provides health care services to enrollees:
A gift certificate, store gift card, or general use gift card shall be valid in accordance with its terms in exchange for merchandise or services.
(A.1) Persons who are offered an opportunity to participate in a promotion must be given a notice as required by this paragraph. The written notice must be given to the participant either prior to the person’s traveling to the place of business or, if no travel by the participant is necessary, prior to any seminar, sales presentation, or other presentation, by whatever name denominated. Written notices may be delivered by hand, by mail, by newspaper, by periodical, or by electronic mail or any other form of electronic, digital, or Internet based communication. Any offer to participate made through any other medium must be preceded by or followed by the required notice at the required time. It is the intent of this paragraph that full, clear, and meaningful disclosure shall be made to the participant in a manner such that the participant can fully study and understand the disclosure prior to deciding whether to travel to the place of participation or whether to allow a presentation to be made in the participant’s home; and that this paragraph be liberally construed to effect this purpose. The notice requirements of this paragraph shall be applicable to any promotion offer made by any person in the State of Georgia or any promotion offer made to any person in the State of Georgia;
(N.1) All prizes offered and awarded shall be noncash prizes only and shall not be redeemable for cash;
“Notice to the Buyer Please read this form completely and carefully. It contains valuable cancellation rights. The buyer or buyers may cancel this transaction at any time prior to 5:00 P.M. of the seventh day following receipt of this notice. This cancellation right cannot be waived in any manner by the buyer or buyers. Any money paid by the buyer or buyers must be returned by the seller within 30 days of cancellation. To cancel, sign this form, and mail by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, by 5:00 P.M. of the seventh day following the transaction. Be sure to keep a photocopy of the signed form and your post office receipt. Seller’s Name Address to which cancellation is to be mailed I (we) hereby cancel this transaction. Buyer’s Signature Buyer’s Signature Date Printed Name(s) of Buyer(s) Street Address City, State, ZIP Code”
“Notice to the Seller Please read this form completely and carefully. It contains valuable cancellation rights. The seller or sellers may cancel this transaction at any time prior to 5:00 P.M. of the tenth day following receipt of this notice. This cancellation right cannot be waived in any manner by the seller or sellers. Any money paid to the seller or sellers must be returned by the seller within 30 days of cancellation. To cancel, sign this form, and return it to the buyer by 5:00 P.M. of the tenth day following the transaction. It is best to mail it by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, and to keep a photocopy of the signed form and your post office receipt. Buyer’s name Address to which cancellation is to be returned. I (we) hereby cancel this transaction. Seller’s signature Seller’s signature Date Printed name(s) of seller(s) Street Address City, State, ZIP Code”
History. Ga. L. 1975, p. 376, § 3; Ga. L. 1978, p. 2001, § 2; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 10; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1689, §§ 2, 4; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1298, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 10; Ga. L. 1984, p. 463, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 10; Ga. L. 1985, p. 938, § 2; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1183, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 405, § 2; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1313, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 794, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1386, § 2; Ga. L. 1988, p. 13, § 10; Ga. L. 1988, p. 399, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1988, p. 983, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 10; Ga. L. 1989, p. 560, § 3; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1606, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1653, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 10; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1129, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2139, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 10; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1076, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1676, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 729, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1030, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 10; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1507, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 643, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 557, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1181, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Ga. L. 2001, p. 4, § 10; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1170, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 149, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 4-2/HB 501; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1183, § 2/SB 13; Ga. L. 2009, p. 86, § 18/HB 141; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, §§ 1-4, 1-11/HB 228; Ga. L. 2010, p. 302, § 1/SB 368; Ga. L. 2011, p. 227, § 2/SB 178; Ga. L. 2011, p. 705, § 4-6/HB 214; Ga. L. 2012, p. 1136, § 1/SB 431; Ga. L. 2014, p. 866, § 10/SB 340; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1088, § 2/SB 148.
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, in subsection (b), in subparagraph (b)(16)(A.1), in the third sentence, deleted “or” following “newspaper,” and inserted “, or by electronic mail or any other form of electronic, digital, or Internet based communication”; substituted “Attorney General” for “administrator” twice in subparagraph (b)(16)(L); in subparagraph (b)(16)(N), in the last sentence, substituted “Attorney General may prosecute persons who promote and sponsor promotions which constitute an unlawful lottery or” for “administrator” at the beginning and substituted “of such persons” for “of persons who promote and sponsor promotions which constitute an unlawful lottery” at the end; made punctuation and capitalization changes in the “Notice to the Seller” form in division (b)(20)(C)(iv); substituted “Attorney General” for “administrator in consultation with the Department of Community Health; provided, however, that the administrator shall not have any responsibility for matters or functions related to the licensure of home health agencies” in the second sentence of the concluding language of paragraph (b)(30); substituted “shall have the same meaning as the term ‘telemarketing’ in subsection (a) of Code Section 10-1-393.5” for “means any unsolicited telephone call or telephone call arising from an unsolicited telephone call” in division (b)(31)(B)(i); and, in subsection (d), substituted “Attorney General or the Attorney General’s” for “administrator or administrator’s” in the last sentence of paragraph (d)(1) and substituted “Attorney General” for “administrator” twice in subparagraph (d)(2)(A).
Cross references.
Criminal penalties for unauthorized reproduction and sale of recorded materials, § 16-8-60 .
Criminal penalty for deceptive business practices, § 16-9-50 .
Fraud generally, § 23-2-50 et seq.
Misbranding of food generally, § 26-2-28 .
Labeling of meat, §§ 26-2-107 , 26-2-111 , 26-2-112 .
Misbranding of drugs, § 26-3-8 .
Misbranding and false advertisement of cosmetics, § 26-3-12 et seq.
Time-share program sales, deceptive practices, § 44-3-185 et seq.
Code Commission notes.
Owing to the duplication in paragraph designations, paragraphs (16), (17), and (18) added to subsection (b) by Ga. L. 1986, p. 405, § 2, were redesignated paragraphs (17), (18), and (19), respectively, in 1986, pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5. In accordance with this revision, in subsection (b), punctuation was revised, “or” was deleted at the end of paragraph (15), and the references in paragraphs (18) and (19) were adjusted accordingly.
Three 1988 Acts amended this Code section, two of which added a paragraph (21) to subsection (b). Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1988, the paragraph enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 399 has retained the (b)(21) designation but paragraph (21) enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1657 and paragraph (22) also enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1657 have been redesignated as paragraphs (22) and (23) of subsection (b), respectively.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1988, semi-colons were substituted for periods at the end of paragraphs (b)(20) and (b)(21).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1989, “spas;” was substituted for “spas.” in paragraph (b)(12) and “going-out-of-business” was substituted for “going out of business” in subparagraphs (b)(24)(A) and (b)(24)(B).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2004, “Code section; and” was substituted for “Act.” in subparagraph (b)(29.1)(A).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2009, a semicolon was substituted for a period at the end of subparagraph (b)(30.1)(E), “or” was deleted at the end of paragraph (b)(32), and “; and” was substituted for a period at the end of paragraph (b)(33).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 1985, p. 938 contained a § 2 which amended this Code section and a second § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, which contained a standard repeal provision.
Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 10 which amended paragraph (b)(12) was superseded by Ga. L. 1989, p. 1606, § 1.
Ga. L. 1990, p. 1653, § 3, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the Act shall not be construed to repeal or modify any provisions of law relative to the utterance or delivery of a worthless check and the provisions of the Act shall be cumulative of such other provisions.
Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 2000 amendment by that Act is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.
Ga. L. 2001, p. 1170, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly finds that managed health care has benefited consumers by negotiating contracts with physicians which prohibit such physicians from billing consumers for fees above and beyond the amount paid by the managed care plan. In order to ensure that the consumers of this state continue to receive such benefits, it is imperative that physicians adhere to their contractual obligations to charge only those fees contractually agreed to and not attempt to pass additional or hidden costs along to consumers. The purpose of Section 2 of this Act is to ensure that consumers are not charged fees above and beyond those already contracted for between their physician and their health benefit plans.”
Ga. L. 2004, p. 149, § 1, which amended this Code section, did not specify which subsection was amended but actually amended subsection (b).
Ga. L. 2005, p. 1183, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Gift Card Integrity Act of 2005.’ ”
Ga. L. 2005, p. 1183, § 3, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the second 2005 amendment applies to any gift certificates, store gift cards, or general use gift cards sold on or after October 1, 2005.
Ga. L. 2012, p. 1136, § 4/SB 431, not codified by the General Assembly, provides in part that this Code section shall apply to conduct that occurs on and after May 2, 2012. It is not the intention of this Act to abate any prosecution undertaken for conduct occurring under the law in effect prior to such date, and any offense committed before May 2, 2012, shall be prosecuted and punished under the statutes in effect at the time the offense was committed.
Law reviews.
For note on 1989 amendment to this Code section, see 6 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 150 (1989).
For note on 1992 amendment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 265 (1992).
For comment, “The Georgia Fair Business Practices Act: Business As Usual,” see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 453 (1993).
For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 29 (1997).
For review of 1998 legislation relating to commerce and trade, see 15 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 9 (1998).
For note on the 2001 amendment to this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 241 (2001).
For article, “The Federalization and Privatization of Public Consumer Protection Law in the United States: Their Effect on Litigation and Enforcement,” see 24 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 663 (2008).
For comment, “Unwrapping Escheat: Unclaimed Property Laws and Gift Cards,” see 60 Emory L. J. 971 (2011).
For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 147 (2011).