Wisconsin Telemarketing Fraud Laws

Code Sections

Wisconsin Administrative Code: Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (ATCP) Chapter 127 - Direct Marketing: Telephone Solicitations and Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 100 - Marketing & Trade Practices

What Is Prohibited?

The Wisconsin Telemarketing Sales Rule covers most telephone solicitations to Wisconsin consumers, no matter where the call originates. The rule includes all of the following:

• Requires certain disclosures to consumers, including at the beginning of the call the name of the company and caller, that the caller is selling something, and what goods or services are being offered. Before a sale or payment is made, the seller must disclose the nature and number of goods or services sold, the total cost to buy and receive them, the sales conditions, the name of the company, its mailing address or phone number, and the cancellation/exchange policy. These disclosures must be in writing, which can be sent when the goods/services are delivered. A cancellation deadline must be at least seven days after delivery.
  • Note: If the primary language of the sales call isn't English, then the disclosures and any written agreement signed by the consumer must be in English and the primary language used.
• Prohibits misrepresentations about many things, including the seller's identity, location, the intended length of the call, the terms of the phone transaction, the cancellation policy, affiliation with the government, the number of people offered the sale, limited time of sale, or any other misrepresentation.
• Prohibits deceptive sales practices such as threatening or harassing consumers, repeatedly calling, or calling consumers who've asked the company not call them.
• Prohibits calls before 8 am or after 9 pm
• Requires violation prevention by implementing written procedures reasonably designed to stop violations.
• Provides a three-day right to cancel
• Prohibits the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from a consumer's bank account without express written authorization or recorded oral authorization with the specifics.
• Regulates prize promotions, which can't violate the lottery laws, must have certain notices, and the material terms can't be misrepresented in a telephone transaction.

No one can obtain a telephone record of a Wisconsin resident without the customer's consent by making a false statement as a telephone service provider agent or customer or by providing a fraudulent document. Nor can they ask another person to get the record in violation of this or sell telephone records.

Penalty

Telemarketing law violators can be fined between $25 and $5,000 for each offense and jailed for a year. The state can seek an injunction to stop the actions and bring a civil forfeiture action for $100 to $10,000 for each violation of the law or injunction.

In addition, anyone who suffered a financial loss because of telemarketers' bad acts can sue them in civil court for damages to recover twice the amount of his or her loss, court costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees.

Getting, selling, or receiving phone records without the number owner's consent is a Class I felony for one telephone record, a Class G felony for 2-9 records, or a Class E felony for more than 10 phone records. The court can order a violator to pay the victim for his or her financial loss suffered because of the violation, or $1,000, whichever is greater. The penalties by felony class are: Class I - at most 3.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, Class G - at most 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine, and Class E felony - at most 15 years in prison and a of $50,000 fine.