Puerto Rico Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4031, et seq.
Laws of Puerto Rico
TitleITLE 10 Commerce
Subtitle 3 Business Regulations Generally
Chapter 308. Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act
§ 4031. Definitions
§ 4032. Prohibited practices
§ 4033. Abusive or prohibited practices
§ 4034. Registry policy—Generally
§ 4035. Registry policy—Exemptions
§ 4035a. Notice
§ 4036. Annulment of agreements
§ 4037. Penalties
§ 4038. Penalties—Administrative
§ 4031. Definitions
(1) Consumer. — Any natural person to whom a good or service is offered by means of telemarketing, and who acquires the same as final recipient, authorizing the payment for such good or service by means of direct discount from a checking or savings account, or a credit card.
(2) Express and verifiable authorization. — An authorization written by the consumer, which includes the signature of the consumer, authorizing a telephone solicitor to obtain a payment from a checking or savings account, or credit card.
(3) Goods or services. — Any tangible or intangible good, or any type of service offered to a person.
(4) Prize promotion. — Any type of game of chance or any oral or written representation stating that a specific person has won, been selected, or is eligible to receive a specific prize.
(5) Salesperson. — Any person who, by means of a telephone transaction, solicits funds or contributions, provides, offers or coordinates for others the providing of goods or services to a consumer in exchange for some type of remuneration.
(6) Telemarketing. — A plan, program or campaign conducted to introduce the purchase of goods and services by means of one or more telephones, and that involves more than one telephone call.
(7) Telephone solicitor. — Any person, business or company that, by means of telemarketing, initiates or receives telephone calls, or a call from a specific consumer, in which one of the parties is located in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
“History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 3.”
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4031
§ 4032. Prohibited practices
The following shall be considered to be prohibited or deceitful practices by any salesperson or telephone solicitor:
(1) Failure to state at the beginning of the call and prior to requiring any payment:
(a) The true purpose of the telephone call.
(b) The real name of the company or entity initiating the telephone call.
(c) The goods or services being offered.
(2) Failure to communicate clearly and in detail the following information:
(a) The total cost for the consumer of the sale of the goods to be received.
(b) Any restriction, limitation or condition on the purchase or use of the goods subject of the sale.
(c) Any term or condition on the cancellation, return or exchange policy of the seller.
(d) Any cost or condition related to the granting of prizes, including the probabilities of winning the prize, and the nature and value of the prize.
(e) The exact amount of any offer.
(3) Failure to correctly inform [sic] the quality and basic characteristics of the goods or services being offered.
(4) Falsely announcing that the product or company in question has the endorsement of any government entity or agency.
(5) Requiring or submitting any charge to the bank account or credit card of a consumer without being authorized to do so by the consumer.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 4.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4032
§ 4033. Abusive or prohibited practices
It shall be considered abusive and prohibited practice in telemarketing when any salesperson or telephone solicitor incurs in the following behaviors:
(1) Threatens or intimidates the consumer, as well as the using [of] obscene and profane language.
(2) Solicits any type of incentive for removing negative information from the credit history of a specific person.
(3) Causes the telephone to ring more than five times on a call whose intention is telephone solicitation.
(4) Initiates a telephone solicitation with a person when it has been reiterated previously that telephone solicitation calls from that specific salesperson are not wanted.
(5) Makes a telephone solicitation call to a residence at any time that is not within 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., local time of the location of the person being called.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 5.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4033
§ 4034. Registry policy—Generally
All telephone solicitors shall maintain an exact registry of all telemarketing activities performed that are geared to consumers in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Said registries shall be accessible to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO, in Spanish). Said registries shall be kept for a period of five (5) years from the beginning of any telephone call made to or received in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Said registries shall include, as a minimum, the following information:
(a) The location of any telephone solicitor and the exact address of the different locations from which the calls originate.
(b) Copies of the script or presentation of a specific product, which the salesperson must use during the telephone call to sell same.
(c) Copies of all written authorizations of telemarketing transactions provided by the consumers.
(d) The complete name and address of all the persons who have expressed that they do not wish to receive telephone solicitations and the date on which they made such notification.
(e) Copy of the cancellation, reimbursement or return policy for any good or product offered by the telephone solicitor.
(f) Materials that justify any claim regarding the performance, efficiency, nature or features of the goods or services subject of a telephone solicitation.
(g) Any written consent for the use of the names of persons or organizations that endorse the product to be sold.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 6.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4034
§ 4035. Registry policy—Exemptions
The registry policy requirements shall not apply to the following:
(a) A person making telephone calls to the home of a citizen with the sole purpose of conducting a survey or to request the expression of ideas and opinions, or for political or religious reasons.
(b) A securities broker or investment consultant who is duly registered in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a securities broker, provided the purpose of the call is to sell this type of securities.
(c) A financial institution authorized to accept deposits which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Shares and Deposits Insurance Corporation for Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions (PROSAD, in Spanish), in the case of cooperative savings and credit unions located in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) An insurance company or other organization authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by the Insurance Commissioner.
(e) A college or university institution, duly approved by the Council on Higher Education of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Department of Education.
(f) Person or entity that publishes a catalogue with a minimum of 15 pages three times per year, and with a minimum circulation of at least 100,000 catalogues, clearly stating prices, shipping and handling costs, and other charges.
(g) An instrumentality of the Government of the United States, any state, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico itself.
(h) A duly licensed real estate broker, when the telephone call is only to exercise the duties for which same is duly licensed.
(i) Any travel agency that is duly registered in the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico when the purpose of the call is to sell travel offers.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 7.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4035
§ 4035a. Notice
Any person or entity that using a telemarketing method offers free goods or services on a trial basis shall send the consumer a notice or receipt containing the terms and conditions of the trial period, the costs or charges to be collected after the end of the trial period, and the end date thereof. The notice or receipt shall contain the address and telephone number the consumer shall contact to notify that he no longer wishes to receive the goods or services once the trial period has ended.
Failure to reply to the notice or receipt sent by the goods and services provider shall not be construed as an acceptance by the consumer to receive or enjoy the product once the trial period has ended.
The Department of Consumer Affairs shall prescribe by regulations all that pertains to the form and content of the notice referred to in section.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, added as § 8 on Sept. 13, 2012, No. 223, § 1.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4035a
§ 4036. Annulment of agreements
Any contract or agreement made as a result of a telemarketing agreement that violates any section of this chapter may be annulled by the consumer at any time without the imposition of any type of debt, nor affecting the consumer’s credit history.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 8; renumbered as § 9 on Sept. 13, 2012, No. 223, § 1.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4036
§ 4037. Penalties
Any business or company, salesperson or telephone solicitor who violates this chapter shall incur in a misdemeanor, and if convicted, shall be imposed a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500), nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), and/or a jail term of not more than six (6) months, as established by the court deems fit.
The Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO) shall be empowered to set forth the regulations to enforce this chapter and to oversee compliance with this chapter by the persons, companies or businesses regulated by this chapter.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 9; renumbered as § 10 on Sept. 13, 2012, No. 223, § 1.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4037
§ 4038. Penalties—Administrative
Any violation to the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable by the imposition of an administrative fine of up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation. The power to impose such fines shall be upon the Department of Consumer Affairs, pursuant to the provisions of § 341q of Title 3, part of the Organic Act of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
To ensure implementation of this chapter, the monies collected for such fines shall be deposited in the funds of the Department of Consumer Affairs, for which a special account shall be created for such purposes in the Department of the Treasury.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 210, § 10; renumbered as § 11 on Sept. 13, 2012, No. 223, § 1.
P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 4038
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