407.828. Franchisor's duties to franchisee--schedule of compensation--claims payment.
Franchisor's duties to franchisee--schedule of compensation--claimspayment.
407.828. 1. Each franchisor shall specify in writing to each of itsfranchisees in this state the franchisee's obligations for preparation,delivery, and warranty service on its products. The franchisor shallcompensate the franchisee for warranty service required of the franchisee bythe franchisor. The franchisor shall provide the franchisee with the scheduleof compensation to be paid to the franchisee for parts, work and service, andthe time allowance for the performance of the work and service.
2. The schedule of compensation shall include reasonable compensationfor diagnostic work, as well as repair service and labor. Time allowances forthe diagnosis and performance of warranty work and service shall be reasonableand adequate for the work to be performed. In the determination of whatconstitutes reasonable compensation pursuant to this section, the principalfactor to be given consideration shall be the prevailing wage rates being paidby franchisees in the community in which the franchisee is doing business, andin no event shall the compensation of a franchisee for warranty labor be lessthan the rates charged by the franchisee for like service to retail customersfor nonwarranty service and repairs, provided that such rates are reasonable.
3. A franchisor shall not:
(1) Fail to perform any warranty obligation;
(2) Fail to include in written notices of franchisor recalls to newmotor vehicle owners and franchisees the expected date by which necessaryparts and equipment will be available to franchisees for the correction of thedefects; or
(3) Fail to compensate any of the franchisees in this state for repairseffected by the recall.
4. All claims made by a franchisee pursuant to this section for laborand parts shall be paid within thirty days after their approval. All claimsshall be either approved or disapproved by the franchisor within thirty daysafter their receipt on a proper form generally used by the franchisor andcontaining the usually required information therein. Any claims notspecifically disapproved in writing within thirty days after the receipt ofthe form shall be considered to be approved and payment shall be made withinthirty days. A claim which has been approved and paid may not be charged backto the franchisee unless the franchisor can show that the claim wasfraudulent, false, or unsubstantiated, except that a charge back for false orfraudulent claims shall not be made more than two years after payment, and acharge back for unsubstantiated claims shall not be made more than fifteenmonths after payment. A franchise shall maintain all records of warrantyrepairs, including the related time records of its employees, for at least twoyears following payment of any warranty claim.
5. A franchisor shall compensate the franchisee for franchisor-sponsoredsales or service promotion events, programs, or activities in accordance withestablished guidelines for such events, programs, or activities.
6. All claims made by a franchisee pursuant to subsection 5 forpromotion events, programs, or activities shall be paid within ten days aftertheir approval. All claims shall be either approved or disapproved by thefranchisor within thirty days after their receipt on a proper form generallyused by the franchisor and containing the usually required informationtherein. Any claim not specifically disapproved in writing within thirty daysafter the receipt of this form shall be considered to be approved and paymentshall be made within thirty days. The franchisor has the right to charge backany claim for twelve months after the later of either the close of thepromotion event, program, or activity, or the date of the payment.
(L. 2001 H.B. 575)