§ 75-102. Restrictions on telephone solicitations. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 75‑102.  Restrictionson telephone solicitations.

(a)        Except as providedin G.S. 75‑103, no telephone solicitor shall make a telephonesolicitation to a telephone subscriber's telephone number if the telephonesubscriber's telephone number appears in the latest edition of the "Do NotCall" Registry.

(b)        No telephonesolicitor shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone subscriber'stelephone number if the telephone subscriber previously has communicated to thetelephone solicitor a desire to receive no further telephone solicitations fromthe telephone solicitor to that number.

(c)        Any telephonesolicitor who makes a telephone solicitation shall do all of the following:

(1)        At the beginning ofthe telephone solicitation, state clearly the identity of the telephonesolicitor and identify the individual making the telephone solicitation.

(2)        Upon request,provide the telephone subscriber with the telephone number or address at whichthe telephone solicitor may be contacted.

(3)        If the telephonesubscriber requests to be taken off the contact list of the telephonesolicitor, the telephone solicitor shall take all steps necessary to remove thetelephone subscriber's name and telephone number from the contact list of thetelephone solicitor and stop calling the telephone subscriber within 30business days.

(4)        If the telephonesubscriber objects to the telephone solicitation, terminate the telephonesolicitation and promptly disconnect from the telephone line of the personreceiving the call.

(5)        Notwithstandingsubdivision (3) of this subsection, if a telephone solicitor relies on theestablished business relationship of an affiliate to solicit a residentialtelephone subscriber whose telephone number is listed in the latest edition ofthe "Do Not Call" Registry and the person called communicates adesire to receive no further telephone solicitations from the telephonesolicitor, the telephone solicitor shall take all steps necessary to removethat telephone subscriber's telephone number from the contact lists of thetelephone solicitor and that affiliate, unless the telephone subscriberindicates otherwise, and the telephone solicitor and that affiliate shall stopcalling the telephone subscriber at that number within 60 business days.

(d)        Every telephone solicitorshall implement systems and written procedures to prevent further telephonesolicitations to any telephone subscriber who has asked not to be called againat a specific number or numbers or whose telephone number appears in the"Do Not Call" Registry. Every telephone solicitor shall train,monitor, and enforce compliance by its employees and shall monitor and enforcecompliance by its independent contractors in those systems and procedures.Every telephone solicitor shall ensure that lists of telephone numbers that maynot be contacted by the telephone solicitor are maintained and recorded.Compliance with the time requirements within the Telemarketing Sales Rule forincorporating and complying with updated versions of the "Do NotCall" Registry shall constitute compliance with North Carolina law.

(e)        Except as providedin G.S. 75‑103, no telephone solicitor shall violate any requirement ofsection 310.3 of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (Deceptive telemarketing acts orpractices), section 310.4 of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (Abusivetelemarketing acts or practices), and section 310.5 of the Telemarketing SalesRule (Record keeping requirements).

(f)         No telephonesolicitor shall make a telephone solicitation before 8:00 A.M. or after 9:00P.M.

(g)        A telephonesolicitor shall inquire as to whether the telephone subscriber is under the ageof 18. If the telephone subscriber purports to be less than 18 years of age,the telephone solicitor shall discontinue the call immediately. No inquiry isrequired where the solicitor has taken reasonable steps to remove all telephonecontacts who are less than 18 years of age from its list of subscribers beingcontacted or can demonstrate that it does not target subscribers who are lessthan 18 years of age.

(h)        No telephonesolicitor shall engage in threats, intimidation, or the use of profane orobscene language.

(i)         No telephonesolicitor shall knowingly use any method to block or otherwise circumvent atelephone subscriber's use of a caller identification service. No provider oftelephone caller identification services shall be held liable for violations ofthis subsection committed by other individuals or entities.

(j)         A telephonesolicitor or its agent that makes telephone solicitations on its behalf,provided that the telephone solicitor ensures compliance by its agent, shallkeep a record for a period of 24 months from the date a telephone solicitationis made of the legal name, any fictitious name used, the resident address, thetelephone number, and the job title of each individual who makes a telephonesolicitation for that telephone solicitor. If an individual who makes telephonesolicitations for a telephone solicitor uses a fictitious name, the fictitiousname shall be traceable only to the specific individual.

(k)        Nothing in thissection prohibits a telephone solicitor from contacting by nontelephonic noticea telephone subscriber whose telephone number appears in the "Do NotCall" Registry to obtain the telephone subscriber's express invitation orpermission allowing the telephone solicitor to make telephone solicitations tothe telephone subscriber. A telephone solicitor shall not contact a telephonesubscriber by telephone to obtain this express invitation or permission.

(l)         Nothing in thissection prohibits a telephone solicitor from advertising in a general medium orcontacting by nontelephonic notice a telephone subscriber whose telephonenumber appears in the "Do Not Call" Registry to encourage thetelephone subscriber to initiate telephone calls to the telephone solicitor. Atelephone solicitor shall not contact a telephone subscriber by telephone toobtain this express invitation or permission.

(m)       The AttorneyGeneral, in consultation with the Public Staff of the Public UtilitiesCommission, shall draft the contents of a bill insert or bill message, a directmailing, and an e‑mail that notifies consumers of the existence of the"Do Not Call" Registry and provides information to consumers on howto use it and the other provisions of this Article to object to receivingtelephone solicitations. Local exchange companies shall distribute thenotification pursuant to G.S. 62‑54.

(n)        In the event thatthe federal "Do Not Call" Registry is not operational by January 1,2004, or ceases to operate for any reason after January 1, 2004, the AttorneyGeneral may develop, operate, and maintain such a registry for the benefit ofNorth Carolina telephone subscribers.

(o)        In telephonesolicitation transactions involving telephone subscribers, no contract orpurchase agreement entered into during a telephone solicitation is valid, andno money from the prospective purchaser is due thereunder, unless all thefollowing conditions are satisfied:

(1)        The contract and thesales representations that precede it are not deceptive or abusivetelemarketing acts or practices as elaborated in sections 310.3 and 310.4 ofthe Telemarketing Sales Rule only to the extent that this Article requirestelephone solicitors to comply with these regulations.

(2)        The telephonesolicitor has complied with the record keeping requirements of section 310.5 ofthe Telemarketing Sales Rule only to the extent that this Article requirestelephone solicitors to comply with these regulations.

(3)        The contract and thesales representations that precede it comply with all other applicable federaland State laws, including Article 1 of this Chapter.  (2003‑411, ss. 3, 4;2009‑122, s. 1.)