(a)        Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person or firm to solicit or require payment of money or other consideration in exchange for recovering or attempting to recover:

(1)        Money or other valuable consideration previously tendered to a telephonic seller, as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-260; or

(2)        Prizes, awards, or other things of value that the telephonic seller represented would be delivered.

(b)        A violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any violation involving actual collection of money or other consideration from a customer shall be punishable as a Class H felony.

(c)        This section does not apply to attorneys licensed to practice law in this State, to persons licensed by the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board, or to any collection agent properly holding a permit issued by the Department of Insurance to do business in this State. (1997-482, s. 2.)

Attorney's Note

Under the N.C. Gen. Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class H felonybetween 4 and 25 months
Class 1 misdemeanorup to 120 days
For details, see § 15A-1340.17 and § 15A-1340.23

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 14-401.15

  • 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, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3