Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) It shall be a deceptive act or practice
in connection with a consumer transaction involving any direct solicitation
sale for a supplier to do any of the following:
(1) Solicit a sale without clearly,
affirmatively, and expressly revealing at the time the supplier initially
contacts the consumer or prospective consumer, and before making any other
statement, asking any question, or entering the residence of the consumer or
prospective consumer, that the purpose of the contact is to effect a sale,
stating in general terms the goods or services the supplier has to offer,
provided that this paragraph shall not apply to solicitations by
mail;
(2) Represent that the
consumer or prospective consumer will receive a discount, rebate, or other
benefit for permitting the consumer or prospective consumer's home or other
property, real or personal, to be used as a so-called "model home" or "model
property" for demonstration or advertising purposes when such in fact is not
true;
(3) Represent that the
consumer or prospective consumer has been specially selected to receive a
bargain, discount, or other advantage when such in fact is not true;
(4) Represent that the consumer or
prospective consumer is a winner of a contest when such in fact is not
true;
(5) Fail to conform to the
requirements of sections
1345.21 to
1345.27, and
1345.99 of the Revised Code
relative to home solicitation sales or misrepresent in any manner, the
consumer's or prospective consumer's right to cancel provided for under such
sections, when such sections are applicable;
(6) Represent that the goods that are being
offered for sale cannot be purchased in any place of business, but only through
direct solicitation, when such in fact is not true;
(7) Represent that the salesperson,
representative, or agent has authority to negotiate the final terms of a
consumer transaction when such in fact is not true;
(8) Send a consumer a communication that the
supplier proposes to send goods to, or provide services for, the consumer,
which communication, goods or services the consumer has not expressly agreed in
advance to receive, and the consumer will be required to pay for those goods or
services unless the consumer communicates a refusal of the offered goods or
services;
(9) Send unordered goods
to a consumer accompanied by a communication that requires, or purports to
require, payment for the goods unless the consumer communicates a refusal to
accept the goods and/or returns the goods;
(10) Send unordered goods to, or perform
unordered services for, a consumer and then request payment for the provided
goods or services;
(11) Interrupt,
terminate, cancel, or deny delivery or provision of goods or services
previously contracted for to a consumer solely on the basis that the consumer
has not paid for or returned to the supplier goods or services which the
consumer has not ordered, requested or authorized from the
supplier;
(12) Make any attempt to
collect upon, assign or convey to any other person or entity, or report to any
credit reporting agency any claimed consumer debt related to unordered goods or
services provided to the consumer in violation of this rule.
(B) "Direct solicitation" means
solicitation of a consumer transaction initiated by a supplier, at the
residence of any consumer, or at a place other than the normal place of
business of the supplier or by a supplier who has no normal place of business,
and includes a transaction initiated by the supplier by mail or telephone
solicitation at the residence of any consumer or at a place other than the
normal place of business of the supplier. The term "mail" shall include e-mail
and facsimile.
(C) The provisions
of paragraphs (A)(8), (A)(9), and (A)(10) of this rule shall have no
application to goods or services sent pursuant to an agreement that is in
compliance with the federal trade commission rule on the use of negative option
plans by sellers in commerce ( 16 C.F.R. Section 425 ,
as amended on August 20, 1998).
