Restore Georgia's Consumer Protection Law
Close the loopholes that let companies violate Georgia's consumer protection law and escape accountability — including the loophole that lets a company hide behind a contract it obtained through deception.
The Problem
Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act gives consumers a meaningful tool against deceptive businesses. But companies have found ways around it.
The most critical loophole: when a company uses deceptive tactics to get a consumer to sign a contract, the company then uses that contract as a shield. A company can make specific false promises before signing, and then point to generic contract language — an "as-is" clause, a merger clause, a disclaimer — to block the consumer's legal claim. The GFBPA was meant to prevent exactly this kind of conduct, and these reforms close that gap.
The same problem affects other statutory rights. Georgia's Uniform Commercial Code gives buyers the right to revoke acceptance of defective goods — a right created by the legislature. But companies argue that a boilerplate "as-is" clause eliminates even that right. The legislature should make clear that statutory rights cannot be wiped out by generic contract language.
A related loophole leaves Georgia consumers shut out of national remedies. When large national companies harm consumers across the country, they engineer their contracts to designate the law of states chosen specifically because those states' consumer protections are weaker. Georgia consumers end up with fewer rights than consumers in other states who suffered the exact same injury.
The Solution
- Make clear that contract language — including "as-is" clauses, merger clauses, and general disclaimers — cannot be used to escape liability for GFBPA violations; the fine print does not erase the deception that induced a consumer to sign
- Clarify that statutory rights — such as the right to revoke acceptance of defective goods under Georgia's UCC — cannot be waived by generic contract language; only specific, conspicuous, separately negotiated waivers should be given effect
- Close the choice-of-law loophole: a contractual provision designating another state's law cannot strip Georgia consumers of protections Georgia law provides them
- Ensure that Georgia consumers can participate in nationwide consumer class actions and share in recoveries obtained by consumers in other states
- Extend the statute of limitations to four years from discovery, so companies cannot run out the clock by concealing their conduct
- Make clear that any individual consumer harmed by a deceptive practice can bring a GFBPA claim
- Codify that violations of other consumer protection statutes automatically constitute GFBPA violations
Why It Matters
The General Assembly passed the GFBPA to protect Georgia consumers. Companies have found loopholes — exploiting contract language, choice-of-law clauses, and aggressive legal arguments to escape accountability for their own deceptive conduct. This legislation closes those loopholes and restores the law's original purpose: when a company deceives a Georgia consumer, there is a real remedy.
Talking Points
- "If a company lied to get your signature, it shouldn't get to hide behind that signature in court."
- "An 'as-is' clause is meant to limit warranty claims — not to let a company commit fraud and then escape accountability."
- "Companies have found loopholes in Georgia's consumer protection law. This bill closes them."
- "Georgia consumers shouldn't get less protection than consumers in other states just because of fine print in their contract."
- "Your statutory rights belong to you — a company cannot take them away with boilerplate language buried in a contract."
- "The General Assembly passed this law to protect Georgians. These reforms make sure it actually does."
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