(a) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice and a violation of this chapter for any seller or telephone solicitor to:

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-2

  • Express verifiable authorization: means express written authorization by the consumer, including but not limited to the consumer's signature on a negotiable instrument, that specifically authorizes the seller or telephone solicitor to obtain payment from a consumer's checking, savings, or bank card account. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Goods or services: means any real property or any tangible or intangible personal property or services of any kind provided or offered to a consumer. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Investment opportunity: means anything tangible or intangible, that is offered for sale, sold, or traded based wholly or in part on representations, either express or implied, about past, present, or future income, profit, or appreciation. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Material: means any factor likely to affect a person's choice of, or conduct regarding, goods or services. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Outbound telephone call: means a telephone call initiated by a seller or telephone solicitor to induce the purchase of goods or services. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Payment: means anything of value, including any interest, benefit, privilege, claim, or right with respect to anything of value, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Prize: means anything offered or purportedly offered and given or purportedly given to a consumer by chance. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Prize promotion: means a sweepstakes or other game of chance or an oral or written representation that a consumer has won, has been selected to receive, or is eligible to receive a prize or purported prize. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Seller: means any person, who, in connection with a telemarketing transaction, solicits funds or contributions, or arranges for a telephone solicitor to solicit funds or contributions, or provides, offers to provide, or arranges for others to provide goods or services to the consumer in exchange for consideration. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Telemarketing: means a plan, program, or campaign, including a prize promotion or investment opportunity, that is conducted to induce the purchase of goods or services or to solicit funds or contributions by use of one or more telephones and that involves more than one telephone call. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
  • Telephone solicitor: means any person who in connection with telemarketing, initiates or receives telephone calls to or from a consumer, where either or both parties to the telephone call are located in this State. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-1
(1) Fail to commence, within the first minute of an outbound telephone call, and complete within the first three minutes of the outbound call, and before payment is requested and prior to any solicitation, disclosure of the following:

(A) The true purpose of the telephone call;
(B) The telephone solicitor’s name and the company or entity on whose behalf the solicitation is being made; and
(C) The goods or services being offered;
(2) Misrepresent or fail to disclose, in a clear, conspicuous, and intelligible manner and before payment is received from the consumer, the following information:

(A) Total purchase costs to the consumer of the goods or services to be received;
(B) Any restrictions, limitations, or conditions to purchase or to use the goods or services that are the subject of any offer;
(C) Any material term or condition of the seller’s refund, cancellation, or exchange policy, including, if applicable, that no such policies exist;
(D) All material costs or conditions related to receiving a prize, including the odds of winning the prize, and if the odds are not calculable in advance, the factors used in calculating the odds, the nature and value of a prize, that no purchase is necessary to win the prize, and the “no purchase” method of entering the contest;
(E) Any material aspect of an investment opportunity being offered, including but not limited to risk, liquidity, earnings potential, market value, and profitability; and
(F) The quantity, and any material aspect of the quality or basic characteristics of any goods or services offered;
(3) Misrepresent any material aspect of the quality or basic characteristics of any goods or services offered;
(4) Represent that the telephone solicitor or seller is registered as a telephone solicitor in the State or has in any way received an endorsement or approval by any governmental agency of the State;
(5) Make a false or misleading statement with the purpose of inducing a consumer to pay for any goods or services;
(6) Request or accept payment from a consumer or make or submit any charge to the consumer’s credit or bank account before the telephone solicitor or seller receives from the consumer an express verifiable authorization; provided that no express verifiable authorization is required if the seller adopts and complies with a policy that:

(A) Affords the consumer at least seven days after the receipt of goods or services to review goods or services and return undamaged or unused goods or submit a cancellation of services notice;
(B) Requires the seller to process the full refund within thirty days after receipt of returned merchandise or the cancellation of services notice from the consumer; and
(C) Requires the disclosure of the seller’s return and refund policy to the consumer, orally by telephone, and in writing with any advertising or promotional material, and with delivery of the goods or services;
(7) Fail to include on the express verifiable authorization in a clear and conspicuous manner, the following language:

“YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT UNLESS YOU SIGN THIS CONFIRMATION AND RETURN IT TO THE SELLER.”;

(8) Procure the services of any professional delivery, courier, or other pick-up service to obtain immediate receipt or possession of a consumer’s payment;
(9) Offer to consumers in the State any prize promotion, in which a purchase or payment is necessary to obtain the prize;
(10) Fail to comply with the recordkeeping requirements of this chapter; or
(11) Initiate or cause to be initiated, a telephone solicitation call to a telephone number that is listed on the national Do-Not-Call registry administered by the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to and in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 C.F.R. part 310, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 C.F.R. § parts 64 and 68.
(b) It is a violation of this chapter for any person to assist, support, or provide substantial assistance to any seller or telephone solicitor, where that person knows or should have known that the seller or telephone solicitor is engaged in any unlawful or deceptive practice defined within this chapter.
(c) Engaging in any other unfair or deceptive conduct that will create a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding is a violation of this chapter.

  Previous
Next  
 Chapter 481P Contents