Michigan Laws 445.111c – Unfair or deceptive act or practice; violation; penalty; damages
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 445.111c
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Home solicitation sale: means a sale of goods or services of more than $25. See Michigan Laws 445.111
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 445.111
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- Telephone solicitation: means any voice communication over a telephone for the purpose of encouraging the recipient of the call to purchase, rent, or invest in goods or services during that telephone call. See Michigan Laws 445.111
- Telephone solicitor: means any person doing business in this state who makes or causes to be made a telephone solicitation from within or outside of this state, including, but not limited to, calls made by use of automated dialing and announcing devices or by a live person. See Michigan Laws 445.111
(1) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice and a violation of this act for a telephone solicitor to do any of the following:
(a) Misrepresent or fail to disclose, in a clear, conspicuous, and intelligible manner and before payment is received from the consumer, all of the following information:
(i) Total purchase price to the consumer of the goods or services to be received.
(ii) Any restrictions, limitations, or conditions to purchase or to use the goods or services that are the subject of an offer to sell goods or services.
(iii) Any material term or condition of the seller’s refund, cancellation, or exchange policy, including a consumer’s right to cancel a home solicitation sale under section 2 and, if applicable, that the seller does not have a refund, cancellation, or exchange policy.
(iv) Any 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 required” method of entering the contest.
(v) Any material aspect of an investment opportunity the seller is offering, including, but not limited to, risk, liquidity, earnings potential, market value, and profitability.
(vi) The quantity and any material aspect of the quality or basic characteristics of any goods or services offered.
(vii) The right to cancel a sale under this act, if any.
(b) Misrepresent any material aspect of the quality or basic characteristics of any goods or services offered.
(c) Make a false or misleading statement with the purpose of inducing a consumer to pay for goods or services.
(d) 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. As used in this subdivision, “verifiable authorization” means a written authorization or confirmation, an oral authorization recorded by the telephone solicitor, or confirmation through an independent third party.
(e) Offer to a consumer in this state a prize promotion in which a purchase or payment is necessary to obtain the prize.
(f) Fail to comply with the requirements of section 1a or 1b.
(g) Make a telephone solicitation to a consumer in this state who has requested that he or she not receive calls from the organization or other person on whose behalf the telephone solicitation is made.
(h) While making a telephone solicitation, misrepresent in a message left for a consumer on his or her answering machine or voice mail that the consumer has a current business matter or transaction or a current business or customer relationship with the telephone solicitor or another person and request that the consumer call the telephone solicitor or another person to discuss that matter, transaction, or relationship.
(2) Except as provided in this subsection, beginning 210 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section, a person who knowingly or intentionally violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both. This subsection does not prohibit a person from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other crime including any other violation of law arising out of the same transaction as the violation of this section. This subsection does not apply if the violation of this section is a failure to comply with the requirements of section 1a(1), (4), or (5) or section 1b.
(3) A person who suffers loss as a result of violation of this section may bring an action to recover actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, together with reasonable attorney fees. This subsection does not prevent the consumer from asserting his or her rights under this act if the telephone solicitation results in a home solicitation sale, or asserting any other rights or claims the consumer may have under applicable state or federal law.