Vermont Telemarketing
9 V.S.A. § 2451a, § 2464 - § 2464d
Vermont Statutes
Title 9: Commerce and Trade
Chapter 63: Consumer Protection
Subchapter 1: General Provisions
§ 2451a. Definitions
§ 2464. Telemarketing transactions
§ 2464a. Prohibited telephone solicitations
§ 2464b. Registration of telemarketers
§ 2464c. Private cause of action
§ 2464d. Telephone preference service
§ 2466b. Disclosure of fee for automatic dialing service
§ 2464c. Private cause of action
§ 2464d. Telephone preference service
§ 2451a. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Consumer" means any person who purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services not for resale in the ordinary course of the person's trade or business but for the person's use or benefit or the use or benefit of a member of the person's household, or in connection with the operation of the person's household or a farm whether or not the farm is conducted as a trade or business, or a person who purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services not for resale in the ordinary course of the person's trade or business but for the use or benefit of the person's business or in connection with the operation of the person's business.
(2) "Goods" or "services" shall include any objects, wares, goods, commodities, work, labor, intangibles, courses of instruction or training, securities, bonds, debentures, stocks, real estate, or other property or services of any kind. The term also includes bottled liquified petroleum (LP or propane) gas.
(3) "Seller" means a person regularly and principally engaged in a business of selling goods or services to consumers.
(4) "Home solicitation sale" means the sale or lease, or the offer for sale or lease, of goods or services with a purchase price of $5.00 or more, whether under single or multiple contracts, where the sale, lease, or offer thereof is either personally solicited or consummated by a seller at the residence or place of business or employment of the consumer, or at a seller's transient quarters, or solicited or consummated by a seller wholly or in part by telephone with a consumer at the residence or place of business or employment of the consumer. Transient quarters includes hotel or motel rooms, or any other place utilized as a temporary business location. The term "home solicitation sale" does not include a transaction:
(A) Made pursuant to prior negotiations in the course of a visit by the consumer to a retail business establishment having a fixed permanent location where the goods are exhibited or the services are offered for sale on a continuing basis.
(B) In which the consumer has initiated the contact and specifically requested the seller to visit the consumer's home for the purpose of repairing or performing maintenance upon the consumer's personal property. If, in the course of such a visit, the seller sells the consumer the right to receive additional services or goods other than replacement parts necessarily used in performing the maintenance or in making the repairs, the sale of those additional goods or services would not fall within this exclusion.
(C) Conducted and consummated entirely by mail and without any other contact between the consumer and the seller prior to delivery of the goods or performance of the services.
(D) With a purchase price of under $25.00 where the consumer is not required to sign any contract, receipt, sales ticket, evidence of indebtedness, or other writing, and the goods, services, or merchandise purchased are capable of delivery or performance at one time.
(E) Pertaining to the sale or rental of real property, to the sale of insurance, to the sale of securities by a broker dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or to the sale of commodities by any person registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
(F) Where, in the case of goods, the buyer may at any time:
(i)(I) cancel the order prior to delivery of the goods and receive a full refund for any monies paid;
(II) refuse to accept the goods when delivered, without incurring any obligation to pay for them and receive a full refund for any monies paid; or
(III) return the goods to the seller and receive a full refund for any monies paid;
(ii) the buyer's right to cancel the order or return the goods without obligation or charge at any time and receive a full refund for any monies paid is clearly and unmistakably set forth on the face or reverse side of the sales ticket; and
(iii) the goods or merchandise purchased under an agreement meeting the requirements specified in subdivisions (i) and (ii) of this subdivision (F) are capable of delivery at one time.
(G) Solicited or consummated wholly or in part by telephone where the seller offers a full refund and right of cancellation for at least ten days after receipt of the goods or services, and a full refund within 30 days of return of the goods or cancellation of the services or under terms no more restrictive than those set forth in subsections 2454(a), (c), and (d) of this title, and the right of refund and cancellation is conspicuously disclosed with the goods or services.
(H) Solicited or consummated wholly or in part by a federally insured depository institution or its subsidiary, affiliate, or parent organizations, or by a public utility regulated by the Federal Communications Commission or the Vermont Public Utility Commission.
(I) In response to an order placed by a farmer for farm-related goods or services, whether in person, by telephone, or otherwise, and the farmer has a preexisting open end credit plan with the seller.
(5) "Business day" means any calendar day except Saturday, Sunday, or any day classified as a holiday under 1 V.S.A. § 371.
(6) "Purchase price" means the total price paid or to be paid for the consumer goods or services, including all interest and service charges.
(7) "Lessor" means a person engaged in a business of leasing goods to consumers.
(8) "Collusion" means an agreement, contract, combination in the form of trusts or otherwise, or conspiracy to engage in price fixing, bid rigging, or market division or allocation of goods or services between or among persons. (Added 1973, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 1974; amended 1985, No. 34, § 1; 1985, No. 61; 1993, No. 99, § 3; 1995, No. 23, § 1; 1997, No. 42, § 1; 2001, No. 42, § 2; 2011, No. 168 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 18, 2012; 2021, No. 20, § 16.)
§ 2464. Telemarketing transactions
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Express oral authorization" means that a consumer has explicitly authorized an electronic funds transfer from his or her financial account for goods or services offered by a telemarketer:
(A) during a telephone call in which the telemarketer has clearly stated that the consumer is authorizing the transfer from his or her account and has further stated the consumer's name, a description of the specific goods or services offered, any material terms of the transaction, the date on or after which the account will be debited, the amount of the transfer, a telephone number for consumer inquiries that is answered during normal business hours, and the date of the authorization; and
(B) where the telemarketer has either tape-recorded the entire telemarketing call on which the consumer has authorized the transaction and not disposed of the recording until at least four years after the authorization or has provided written notice to the consumer, prior to the settlement date of the transfer, confirming the terms of the authorization as described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (1) and has not disposed of the written notice until at least four years after the notice was created. Isolated and inadvertent failure to comply with this record-keeping requirement shall not give rise to liability under this subsection, provided that the telemarketer has in place reasonable procedures designed to comply with this requirement.
(2) "Financial account" means a checking, savings, share, or other depository account.
(3) "Process" includes printing a check, draft, or other form of negotiable instrument drawn on or debited against a consumer's financial account, formatting or transferring data for use in connection with the debiting of a consumer's account by means of such an instrument or an electronic funds transfer, or arranging for such services to be provided to a telemarketer.
(4) "Telemarketer" means any person who initiates telephone calls to, or who receives telephone calls from, a consumer in connection with a plan, program, or campaign to market goods or services. The term "telemarketer" does not include:
(A) a federally insured depository institution or its subsidiary when it obtains or submits for payment a check, draft, or other form of negotiable instrument drawn on or debited against a person's checking, savings, share, or other depository account at that institution;
(B) any person that submits a payment when the consumer authorizing the submission has, prior to July 1, 1997, entered into a written contract with the person for the issuance of a charge or credit card;
(C) any person who initiates telephone calls to or who receives telephone calls from a consumer in connection with collection of an amount due for goods or services previously provided to the consumer;
(D) any company registered with and regulated by the Public Utility Commission;
(E) any other category of persons that the Attorney General may exempt by rule consistent with the purposes of this section.
(b) It is an unfair and deceptive act and practice in commerce for any telemarketer directly or through an agent:
(1) to procure the services of any third-party delivery, courier, or other pickup service to obtain a consumer's payment for goods, unless the goods are delivered at the time that the consumer's payment is obtained by the courier;
(2) to obtain or submit for payment a check, draft, or other form of negotiable instrument drawn on a person's financial account without the consumer's prior written authorization or to dispose of the written authorization until at least four years after the authorization; or
(3) to obtain funds from a person's financial account by means of an electronic funds transfer unless:
(A)(i) the consumer has initiated the telephone call to the telemarketer; or
(ii) the telemarketer and the consumer have a current written agreement for the provision of goods or services or the consumer has purchased goods or services from the telemarketer within the previous two years; and
(B) the telemarketer has obtained the consumer's express oral authorization to the transfer prior to initiating the debit.
(c) It is an unfair and deceptive act and practice in commerce for a party other than a federally insured depository institution to process for payment from a consumer's financial account, in connection with a telemarketer's transaction with the consumer:
(1) a check, draft, or other form of negotiable instrument drawn on or debited against such account without the consumer's prior written authorization; or
(2) an electronic funds transfer from such account for goods or services offered by a telemarketer, unless:
(A)(i) the consumer has initiated the telephone call to the telemarketer; or
(ii) the telemarketer and the consumer have a current written agreement for the provision of goods or services or the consumer has purchased goods or services from the telemarketer within the previous two years; and
(B) the telemarketer has obtained the consumer's express oral authorization to the transfer prior to initiating the debit.
(d) In addition to the legal liability described in subsection (c) of this section, it is an unfair and deceptive act and practice in commerce for any person, including a third-party delivery, courier, or other pickup service, or the telemarketer's financial institution as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 10202(5), but not including the consumer's financial institution as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 10202(5), to provide substantial assistance to a telemarketer in violation of subsection (b) of this section when the person or the person's authorized agent knows or consciously avoids knowing that the telemarketer is engaging in an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce.
(e) It is an unfair and deceptive act and practice in commerce for a party other than a federally insured depository institution who processes a telemarketing transaction for payment from a consumer's financial account to:
(1) fail to obtain, before processing the transaction, any prior written authorization required by subdivision (b)(2) of this section or any tape recording or copy of a written confirmation required by subdivision (b)(3) of this section as part of the consumer's express oral authorization; or
(2) dispose of a document required by subdivision (1) of this subsection, or of telemarketer applications or agreements, records of payments processed or returned, electronic communications relating to telemarketers, consumer complaints, or any other category of record that the Attorney General may prescribe by rule, until at least four years after the records were created. (Added 1997, No. 42, § 2; amended 2005, No. 5, § 1; 2007, No. 134 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2-5.)
§ 2464a. Prohibited telephone solicitations
(a) Definitions. As used in this section, section 2464b, and section 2464c of this title:
(1) "Customer" means a customer, residing or located in Vermont, of a company providing telecommunications service as defined in 30 V.S.A. § 203(5).
(2) "Caller identification information" means information a caller identification service provides regarding the name and number of the person calling.
(3) "Caller identification service" means a service that allows a subscriber of the service to have the telephone number and, where available, the name of the calling party transmitted contemporaneously with the telephone call and displayed on a device in or connected to the subscriber's telephone.
(4) "Federal functional regulator" means a federal functional regulator as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(2).
(5) "Financial institution" means a financial institution as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(3).
(6) "Tax-exempt organization" means an organization described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Service Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)).
(7) "Telemarketer" means any telephone solicitor. However, "telemarketer" does not include any telephone solicitor who is otherwise registered or licensed with, or regulated or chartered by, the Secretary of State, the Public Utility Commission, the Department of Financial Regulation, or the Department of Taxes or is a financial institution subject to regulations adopted pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 6804(a) by a federal functional regulator. Telephone solicitors registered with the Department of Taxes to collect Vermont income withholding, sales and use, or meals and rooms tax, but not registered with any other agency listed in this subdivision, shall provide to the Secretary of State an address and agent for the purpose of submitting to the jurisdiction of the Vermont courts in any action brought for violations of this section.
(8) "Telephone solicitation":
(A) means the solicitation by telephone of a customer for the purpose of encouraging the customer to contribute to an organization that is not a tax-exempt organization, or to purchase, lease, or otherwise agree to pay consideration for money, goods, or services; and
(B) does not include:
(i) telephone calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called customer;
(ii) telephone calls made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt organization, an organization incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the State of Vermont, or an organization in the process of applying for tax-exempt status or nonprofit status;
(iii) telephone calls made by a person not regularly engaged in the activities listed in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (8); or
(iv) telephone calls made to a person with whom the telephone solicitor has an established business relationship.
(9) "Telephone solicitor" means any person placing telephone solicitations, or hiring others, on an hourly, commission, or independent contractor basis to conduct telephone solicitations.
(b) Prohibition; Caller Identification Information.
(1) No telemarketer shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont without having first registered in accordance with section 2464b of this title.
(2) No person shall make any telephone call to a telephone number in Vermont that violates the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Rule, 16 C.F.R. subdivision 310.4(b)(1)(iii), or the Federal Communication Commission's Do Not Call Rule, 47 C.F.R. subdivision 64.1200(c)(2) and subsection (d), as amended from time to time.
(3)(A) A person who places a telephone call to make a telephone solicitation or to induce a charitable contribution, donation, or gift of money or other thing of value shall transmit or cause to be transmitted to a caller identification service in use by the recipient of the call:
(i) the caller's telephone number; and
(ii) if made available by the caller's carrier, the caller's name.
(B) Notwithstanding subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3), a caller may substitute for its own name and number the name and the number, which is answered during regular business hours, of the person on whose behalf the caller places the call.
(c) Violation. A violation of this section shall constitute a violation of section 2453 of this title. Each prohibited telephone call shall constitute a separate violation. In considering a civil penalty for violations of subdivision (b)(2) of this section, the court may consider, among other relevant factors, the extent to which a telephone solicitor maintained and complied with procedures designed to ensure compliance with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
(d) Criminal Penalties. A telemarketer who makes a telephone solicitation in violation of subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 18 months or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both. It shall be an affirmative defense, for a telemarketer with five or fewer employees, that the telemarketer did not know and did not consciously avoid knowing that Vermont has a requirement of registration of telemarketers. Each telephone call shall constitute a separate solicitation under this section. This section shall not be construed to limit a person's liability under any other civil or criminal law. (Added 2001, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2003, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 7, 2004; 2017, No. 66, § 1, eff. June 8, 2017.)
§ 2464a. Prohibited telephone solicitations
(a) Definitions. As used in this section, section 2464b, and section 2464c of this title:
(1) "Customer" means a customer, residing or located in Vermont, of a company providing telecommunications service as defined in 30 V.S.A. § 203(5).
(2) "Caller identification information" means information a caller identification service provides regarding the name and number of the person calling.
(3) "Caller identification service" means a service that allows a subscriber of the service to have the telephone number and, where available, the name of the calling party transmitted contemporaneously with the telephone call and displayed on a device in or connected to the subscriber's telephone.
(4) "Federal functional regulator" means a federal functional regulator as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(2).
(5) "Financial institution" means a financial institution as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(3).
(6) "Tax-exempt organization" means an organization described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Service Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)).
(7) "Telemarketer" means any telephone solicitor. However, "telemarketer" does not include any telephone solicitor who is otherwise registered or licensed with, or regulated or chartered by, the Secretary of State, the Public Utility Commission, the Department of Financial Regulation, or the Department of Taxes or is a financial institution subject to regulations adopted pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 6804(a) by a federal functional regulator. Telephone solicitors registered with the Department of Taxes to collect Vermont income withholding, sales and use, or meals and rooms tax, but not registered with any other agency listed in this subdivision, shall provide to the Secretary of State an address and agent for the purpose of submitting to the jurisdiction of the Vermont courts in any action brought for violations of this section.
(8) "Telephone solicitation":
(A) means the solicitation by telephone of a customer for the purpose of encouraging the customer to contribute to an organization that is not a tax-exempt organization, or to purchase, lease, or otherwise agree to pay consideration for money, goods, or services; and
(B) does not include:
(i) telephone calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called customer;
(ii) telephone calls made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt organization, an organization incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the State of Vermont, or an organization in the process of applying for tax-exempt status or nonprofit status;
(iii) telephone calls made by a person not regularly engaged in the activities listed in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (8); or
(iv) telephone calls made to a person with whom the telephone solicitor has an established business relationship.
(9) "Telephone solicitor" means any person placing telephone solicitations, or hiring others, on an hourly, commission, or independent contractor basis to conduct telephone solicitations.
(b) Prohibition; Caller Identification Information.
(1) No telemarketer shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont without having first registered in accordance with section 2464b of this title.
(2) No person shall make any telephone call to a telephone number in Vermont that violates the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Rule, 16 C.F.R. subdivision 310.4(b)(1)(iii), or the Federal Communication Commission's Do Not Call Rule, 47 C.F.R. subdivision 64.1200(c)(2) and subsection (d), as amended from time to time.
(3)(A) A person who places a telephone call to make a telephone solicitation or to induce a charitable contribution, donation, or gift of money or other thing of value shall transmit or cause to be transmitted to a caller identification service in use by the recipient of the call:
(i) the caller's telephone number; and
(ii) if made available by the caller's carrier, the caller's name.
(B) Notwithstanding subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3), a caller may substitute for its own name and number the name and the number, which is answered during regular business hours, of the person on whose behalf the caller places the call.
(c) Violation. A violation of this section shall constitute a violation of section 2453 of this title. Each prohibited telephone call shall constitute a separate violation. In considering a civil penalty for violations of subdivision (b)(2) of this section, the court may consider, among other relevant factors, the extent to which a telephone solicitor maintained and complied with procedures designed to ensure compliance with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
(d) Criminal Penalties. A telemarketer who makes a telephone solicitation in violation of subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 18 months or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both. It shall be an affirmative defense, for a telemarketer with five or fewer employees, that the telemarketer did not know and did not consciously avoid knowing that Vermont has a requirement of registration of telemarketers. Each telephone call shall constitute a separate solicitation under this section. This section shall not be construed to limit a person's liability under any other civil or criminal law. (Added 2001, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2003, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 7, 2004; 2017, No. 66, § 1, eff. June 8, 2017.)
§ 2464b. Registration of telemarketers
(a) Every telemarketer shall register with the Secretary of State, on a form approved by the Secretary. In the case of a telemarketer who hires, whether on an hourly, commission, or independent contractor basis, one or more persons to conduct telephone solicitations, only the person who causes others to conduct telephone solicitations need register. The Secretary of State may adopt rules prescribing the manner in which registration under this section shall be conducted, including a requirement of notice to the Secretary by the telemarketer when the telemarketer ceases to do business in Vermont.
(b) The Secretary of State shall require that each telemarketer designate an agent for the purpose of submitting to the jurisdiction of the Vermont courts in any action brought for violations of section 2464a of this title.
(c) The Secretary of State shall collect the following fees when a document described in this section is delivered to the Office of the Secretary of State for filing:
(1) Registration: $125.00.
(2) Statement of change of designated agent or designated office, or both: $25.00, not to exceed $1,000.00 per filer per calendar year. (Added 2001, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2013, No. 72, § 2.)
§ 2464c. Private cause of action
Any person who receives a telephone call in violation of subsection 2464a(b) of this title may bring an action in Superior Court for damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages in the case of a willful violation, and reasonable costs and attorney's fees. The court may issue an award for the person's actual damages or $500.00 for a first violation, or $1,000.00 for each subsequent violation, whichever is greater. In considering the amount of punitive damages, the court may consider, among other relevant factors, the extent to which a telephone solicitor maintained and complied with procedures designed to ensure compliance with the requirements of sections 2464a and 2464b of this title. This section shall not limit any other claims the person may have under applicable law. (Added 2001, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 2003, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 7, 2004; 2017, No. 66, § 1, eff. June 8, 2017.)
§ 2464d. Telephone preference service
Local exchange carriers shall provide notices at least annually to residential customers of the availability of telephone callers' do not call lists under federal law and of the federal Do Not Call Registry, and a description of how to register. (Added 2001, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 2003, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 7, 2004.)
For more information, see here: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/09/063/02464
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