The Consumer Action Handbook

● provide the seller’s name,
disclose that it’s a sales
call, and tell you exactly
what they’re trying to sell.
It’s illegal for telemarketers to:
● misrepresent what
they’re offering;
● call before 8 a.m. or after
9 p.m.;
● threaten, intimidate or
harass consumers, or call
again if you ask them not to;
or
● request advance payment
to help repair your credit
record, recover money you
lost to other telemarketers,
or help you get credit or
loans.
This FTC rule applies when
you:
● receive a call from a telemarketer
in another state or
country or
● make a call to a company
in another state or country
in response to a mail solicitation.
The FTC rule does not apply:
● when you call to order
from a catalog or in
response to an ad on television
or radio, or in a magazine
or newspaper (with
some exceptions);
MAIL
● to solicitations you
received by fax or computer
for goods or services;
or
● to certain types of businesses,
including nonprofit
organizations, investment
brokers and advisors,
banks, and financial institutions
Additional Protections
Under the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act, Federal
Communications Commission
rules limit telemarketing calls
to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
and require telemarketers to
maintain “Do Not Call” lists of
consumers who have asked not
to be called again. FCC rules
also prohibit:
● automatic dialing
machines and prerecorded
voice message devices
from calling emergency
phone lines, guest or
patient rooms in a hospital,
nursing home or similar
establishment, paging or
cellular phone numbers or
any service for which the
person called will be
charged for the call;
● prerecorded voice message
devices from calling
residential phone lines
unless it’s an emergency or
the person being called has
agreed in advance;
● unsolicited advertisements
from being sent by
fax to either a residence or
a business; and
● prerecorded calls using
automatic dialing
machines from tying up
your phone line for more
than 5 seconds (or 25 seconds
depending on your
local telephone exchange)
after you hang up.
These FCC rules apply no matter
whether the calls are made
within a state or between
states. Some states have registration
and other requirements
for telemarketers who
solicit their residents. Check
with your state or local consumer
protection agency (see
page 72).
Youth Peddling
Selling themselves as programs
to help youth, for-profit companies
are scamming consumers
who believe they are giving
money to legitimate
charities.The enterprises
recruit young people to sell
price-inflated goods because
consumers tend to show good
will toward young salespersons
It is illegal to use the mail as part of a plan based on fraud or misrepresentation to steal
money. This includes:
● sending solicitations to consumers;
● receiving consumers' payments;
● transmitting information from one company location to another;
● using private or commercial interstate delivery services, including to send lottery
solicitations or tickets across state lines or from another country into the United
States; and
● sending mail that looks like it's from a government agency when it isn't, or that looks
like an invoice when nothing was ordered, unless it clearly states that it is not a bill
but only a sales solicitation.
For more information, contact the U.S. Postal Service, page 125.
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