2015 Delaware Code
Title 6 - Commerce and Trade
CHAPTER 25A. TELEMARKETING REGISTRATION AND FRAUD PREVENTION
§ 2506A Disclosure and contract requirements.

(a) A telemarketer shall provide all of the following information when contacting a consumer:

(1) At the beginning of the call and prior to any sales pitch, the telemarketer shall disclose to the customer:

a. That the purpose of the telephone call is to sell specific merchandise;

b. The telemarketer's name and the name of the seller on whose behalf the solicitation is being made; and

c. Accurate information concerning the nature and description of the merchandise being offered for sale.

(2) Before completion of the initial sales call and before payment is requested the telemarketer shall disclose to the customer:

a. The total amount of money to be paid by the customer for the merchandise that is the subject of the telemarketing sales call;

b. Any restrictions, limitations or conditions applicable to the purchase of the merchandise that is the subject of the telemarketing sales call;

c. Any material aspect of the performance, quality, efficacy, nature or basic characteristics of the merchandise that is the subject of the telemarketing sales call;

d. Any material aspect of the nature or terms of the refund, cancellation, exchange or repurchase policies;

e. Any material aspect of any investment being offered, including benefits, the price of the investment, the location of the investment, and the reasonable likelihood of success of the investment opportunity;

f. Any material element of a prize promotion, including:

1. An accurate description of the prize;

2. Its market value;

3. All material conditions to receive or redeem the prize;

4. The actual number of prizes to be awarded;

5. The odds of being able to receive the prize, and if the odds are not calculable in advance, the factors and methods used in calculating the odds;

6. The fact that no purchase or payment of any kind is required to win a prize or to participate in a prize promotion; and

7. Instructions on how to participate or an address or local or toll-free telephone number to which customers may write or call for information on how to participate in the prize promotion.

(b) The following requirements shall apply to each sale of merchandise by a telemarketer:

(1) The telemarketer's sales transaction shall only be considered final 7 business days after the customer has received a written notice as required by this subsection.

(2) The telemarketer shall furnish the customer, in the same language as that principally used in the sales presentation, said written notice, which shall contain in not less than 12-point boldface type, a statement in substantially the following form:

"You, the purchaser, may cancel this transaction without any penalty or obligation at any time prior to midnight of the seventh business day after receipt of this notice. If you cancel, any payments made by you under the sale will be returned within 10 business days following receipt by the seller of your written notice of cancellation and any security interest arising out of the transaction will be canceled.

If you cancel, you must make available to the seller at your residence, in substantially as good condition as when received, any merchandise delivered to you under this contract of sale; or you may, if you wish, comply with the instructions of the seller regarding the return shipment of the goods at the seller's expense and risk.

If you do make the merchandise available to the seller and the seller does not pick the merchandise up within 20 days of the date of your notice of cancellation, or agree to pay the expense for its return, you may retain or dispose of the merchandise without any further obligation. If you fail to make the merchandise available to the seller, or if you agree to return the merchandise to the seller and fail to do so, then you remain liable for performance of all obligations under the contract.

To cancel this transaction, mail or deliver a written notice of cancellation or send a telegram to (name of seller) at the following address (address of seller). The effective time of any cancellation is deemed to be the postmarked date upon which the notice was mailed to the seller, the date upon which the notice was delivered to any commercial document or parcel service for delivery to the seller or the date upon which any telegram was sent to the seller.''

(3) The telemarketer or telemarketing business shall notify the customer of the seller's name, address and phone number and the name, address and phone number of the person to whom any notice of cancellation is to be given if different from the seller. The seller is additionally required to furnish the customer with the date of the telephone solicitation and a description of the telephone solicitation.

(c) Exempt from the requirements of subsection (b) of this section is any sale in which the consumer is given a full refund for the return of undamaged and unused goods, or the merchant guarantees full satisfaction or a cancellation of services notice, when the consumer has at least 7 days to review goods or services after receipt of the goods or services by the consumer, and the seller shall process the refund within 30 days after receipt of returned merchandise or cancellation of services by the consumer. The seller must disclose the review, return and refund policy to the buyer orally by telephone or in writing with advertising or promotional material or with delivery of goods or services. A seller must disclose a return address in writing where the consumer may return goods or cancel services. A seller who discloses in writing that a sale provides "satisfaction guaranteed'' or "free inspection'' or "no risk guarantee,'' or similar words or phrases, shall be deemed to meet the requirements of the review and refund policy.''

(d) It is a violation of this chapter and of § 2513 of this title for any seller, telemarketer or telemarketing business to engage in any unfair or deceptive conduct that would create a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding to any reasonable consumer in connection with this section.

(e) It is a violation of this chapter and of § 2532 of this title for any seller, telemarketer or telemarketing business to engage in any unfair or deceptive conduct that would create a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding to any reasonable consumer in connection with this section.

72 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 1.;

§ 2507A Prohibited acts and practices.

(a) It is a prohibited telemarketing act or practice and a violation of this chapter and § 2513 of this title for any person to:

(1) Obtain or submit for payment a check, draft or other form of negotiable paper drawn on a person's checking, savings, share or similar account without that person's express verifiable authorization. For this purpose, "express verifiable authorization'' means:

a. A written statement signed by the customer expressly authorizing the payment;

b. The customer's signature on the negotiable instrument;

c. An oral authorization by the customer that is tape-recorded and made available upon request to the customer's bank and that evidences both the customer's authorization of a payment for the specific merchandise sold and the customer's receipt of the following information:

1. The date of the draft;

2. The amount of the draft;

3. The payor's name;

4. The number of draft payments, if more than 1;

5. A telephone number for customer inquiry that is answered during normal business hours; and

6. The date of the customer's oral authorization; or

d. Written confirmation of the transaction sent to the customer prior to submission for payment of the customer's check, draft or other form of negotiable paper that includes all of the information required to be given under any oral tape-recorded authorization described in this section;

e. Any otherwise valid "express verifiable authorization'' shall be deemed invalid if said authorization was induced by fraud, false pretenses, misrepresentation, false promises or failure to disclose material information;

(2) Advertise or represent that registration as a telemarketer equals an endorsement or approval by any government or governmental agency of any state;

(3) Wilfully call or contact any customer by telephone for any purpose connected with or related to the sale or advertising of merchandise for 10 years after having been directed, orally or in writing, by the customer or any person acting on behalf of the customer with said customer's authorization, to cease and desist from said calls or contacts. For purpose of this section, a call or contact is "wilful'' if the person making or initiating the call or contact knows or should know of the customer's instruction to not call or contact;

(4) Assist, support or provide substantial assistance to any seller, telemarketer or telemarketing business when the person knew or should have known that the seller, telemarketer or telemarketing business was engaged in any act or practice in violation of this chapter;

(5) Request or receive payment in advance from a person to recover or otherwise aid in the return of money or any other item lost by the customer in a prior telemarketing transaction; or

(6) Use the services of any professional delivery, courier or other pickup service to obtain receipt or possession of a customer's payment, unless the merchandise is delivered with the opportunity to inspect it before any payment is collected.

(b) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the Attorney General from seeking any other civil remedy or criminal sanction for any violation of this chapter as otherwise provided by law. Any person who violates § 1401 or § 1402 of Title 11 in connection with telemarketing shall, in addition, be guilty of a class F felony.

72 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 1.;

§ 2508A Customers' remedies.

(a) The sale of any merchandise by an unregistered, nonexempt seller or an unregistered, nonexempt telemarketing business shall be voidable.

(b) Any customer who suffers a loss or harm as a result of a violation or prohibited act or practice under this chapter, in addition to any other rights of action allowed by law, may recover actual and punitive damages, attorney's fees, court costs and any other remedies provided by law, including equitable relief.

72 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 1.;

§ 2509A Enforcement.

All enforcement actions under this chapter by the Attorney General shall be undertaken in accordance with Chapter 25 of Title 29.

72 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 1.;