Bill Text: NJ A3641 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires retail establishments to refund consumer after failed vending machine transaction.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee [A3641 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A3641-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires retail establishments to refund consumer after failed vending machine transaction.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning vending machines and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this act:
"Retail mercantile establishment" means any store or other place of commercial business where merchandise is exposed or offered for sale at retail to members of the consuming public.
b. Whenever a person purchases a beverage, food, or other merchandise through a vending machine located at a retail mercantile establishment and the transaction is not completed, the vending machine shall refund the purchaser.
If a vending machine fails to issue a refund for an incomplete transaction, then the operator, owner, or a designated employee of the retail mercantile establishment shall refund the purchaser. A vending machine operator or owner shall reimburse a retail mercantile establishment in a timely manner for any refund issued by the establishment as a result of a failed vending machine transaction.
c. A retail mercantile establishment or vending machine operator or owner in violation of subsection b. of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100 for the first offense and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent offense, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 25 et seq.). The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this subsection.
d. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires retail mercantile establishments to refund a person if a vending machine transaction fails to be completed and the machine does not return the person's money. The retail mercantile establishment would then be reimbursed by the vending machine operator or owner.
There is no State law that specifically regulates how consumers are refunded after failed vending machine transactions. Generally, a consumer who does not receive merchandise through a vending machine transaction and is not refunded her or his money by the machine would need to contact the vending machine operator or owner to attempt to get a refund. This bill will provide consumers with a faster refund, by making (1) the retail establishment responsible for the immediate refund to the consumer, and (2) the vending machine operators responsible to the retail establishments that accommodate these machines.
A retail establishment that does not issue a refund to a consumer and a vending machine owner or operator who does not reimburse a retail establishment in a timely manner, in violation of the bill's provisions, would be subject to a penalty of not more than $100 for a first offense and not more than $1,000 for any subsequent offense. This bill does not apply to vending machines located in places other than retail establishments, such as schools and government buildings.
