441. Definitions. 1. (a) "Telephone sales business" shall mean a business which is primarily engaged in the solicitation of orders by telephone for:
(1) merchandise or services connected with merchandise to be shipped to the customer through the mail or by other carrier, upon receipt of an order in a communication initiated by the seller with charge account authorization remitted by telephone and the merchandise by its nature is ready for use or consumption when advertised or offered for sale and can be held in stock;
(2) vacation club membership, vacation packages or other travel services.
(b) The term "telephone sales business" does not include a transaction:
(1) where the purchase price whether under single or multiple contracts, does not exceed twenty-five dollars and the products, goods or merchandise purchased are capable of delivery at one time; or
(2) pertaining to the sale or rental of real property, to the sale of insurance or to the sale of securities or commodities by a broker-dealer registered with the securities and exchange commission or with the department of law; or
(3) pertaining to the solicitation of sales by a catalog seller who periodically issues and delivers catalogs to potential purchasers by mail or by other means; provided, however, that this exception shall only apply if the catalog includes a written description or illustration and the sales price of each item of merchandise offered for sale, includes at least twenty-four full pages of written material or illustrations, is distributed in more than one state, and has an annual circulation of not less than two hundred fifty thousand customers; or
(4) pertaining to a renewal or continuation of an existing or prior contractual relationship or prior purchasing relationship between a buyer and a seller; or
(5) pertaining to the sale of a vacation or travel service which is offered by a:
(i) person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is an officially appointed agent of a common carrier and meets applicable standards no less than those required for authorized agents of the airline reporting corporation; or
(ii) person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is a registered member in good standing of the cruise lines international association and who solely solicits and/or sells travel services and products as an officially appointed agent of one or more ocean carriers in the sale of the ocean carrier's travel services pursuant to the agency appointment.
(6) Pertaining to a sale in which the seller at a minimum has a policy of:
(i) accepting returns or canceling services, for a period of not less than seven days after the date of delivery to the customer and providing a cash refund for a cash purchase or issuing a credit for a credit purchase, which credit is applied to the account on which the purchase was debited, in connection with the return of its unused and undamaged merchandise or canceled services;
(ii) disclosing such seller's return and refund policy to the buyer, orally by telephone or in writing with advertising, promotional material, or with delivery of the products or service; and
(iii) restoring such payment or issuing such credit, as required under clause (i) of this subparagraph, within thirty days after the date on which the seller receives returned merchandise or notice of cancellation of services. A seller who discloses, in writing, that a sale is made or provided "satisfaction guaranteed", with "free inspection", "no risk guarantee", or similar words or phrases shall be deemed to meet the requirements of the review and return for refund policy set forth in this subparagraph.
2. "Telephone sale" shall mean any of the transactions referred to in subdivision one of this section and shall include transactions initiated by a consumer as a result of a mail solicitation inviting such telephone call.
3. "Merchandise" shall mean tangible chattels bought for personal, family or household purposes.
4. "Shipment" shall mean the act whereby the seller physically places the merchandise into the possession of the United States postal service or other carrier.
5. "Accepts orders" shall mean receipt of an order with charge account authorization and debiting the buyer's account.
6. "Purchase price" shall mean the total price paid or to be paid for the merchandise, including all interest and service charges.
7. "Business day" shall mean any calendar day except Sunday, or the following business holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Last modified: February 3, 2019