Utah Telemarketing Fraud Laws

Code Section

Definitions

Telephone solicitation: Initiating a phone call for a commercial purpose or to seek a financial donation.

Telephone solicitor: Any person, firm, organization, partnership, association, or corporation who makes unsolicited telephone calls.

What's Required/ Prohibited?

1. Telephone solicitors calling with an automated dialing system may only call:

• A party that previously agreed to receive a telephone solicitation from the specific solicitor, or
• A party that the solicitor already has an established business relationship with

2. Solicitors may not call a residence (without express prior consent) before 8 a.m., after 9 p.m., on a Sunday, or on a legal holiday.

3. Solicitors may not make a telephone solicitation in violation of the federal law restricting the use of telephone equipment (47 U.S.C. section 227).

4. Solicitors making an unsolicited call must:

• Identify themselves
• Identify the business that they are calling on behalf of
• Promptly identify the purpose of the call
• Stop the solicitation if the person called gives a negative response at any time, and
• If the person called terminates the call, the solicitor must hang up the phone within 25 seconds

5. Solicitors may not block caller identification services.

Penalties

Solicitors who violate this law are subject to a fine of between $100 and $2,500 for each violation.

Any solicitor who intentionally violates this law commits a Class A misdemeanor, and may be fined up to $2,5000.

Code Section

What's Prohibited?

It is unlawful for any solicitor to:

• Make a telemarketing call on behalf of a soliciting business that isn't properly registered (or exempt from registration)
• Use a fake name during a telephone solicitation
• Make any untrue material statements, or fail to disclose a material fact necessary to make a statement made not misleading
• Make any misrepresentations about complying with this law
• Fail to refund money within 30 days after a buyer exercises his right to cancel a sale, or
• Fail to orally advise a buyer of his right to cancel the sale (if applicable)

It is unlawful for any telephone soliciting business to:

• Cause or permit any solicitor to violate this law, or
• Use inmates in telephone soliciting operations where the inmates have access to personal data about an individual sufficient to physically locate or contact that individual

Penalties

First offense: Class B misdemeanor.

Second offense: Class A misdemeanor.

Third or subsequent offense: Third degree felony.

Violators may also be fined up to $2,500 per violation.