TITLE 48

MONOPOLIES AND TRADE PRACTICES

CHAPTER 10

IDAHO TELEPHONE SOLICITATION ACT

48-1002.  Definitions. In this chapter:

(1)  "Business days" means all days of the week except Saturdays and Sundays and all other legal holidays as defined in section 73-108, Idaho Code.

(2)  "Conducting business" means making telephone solicitations either to or from locations within the state of Idaho.

(3)  "Established business relationship" means a relationship that:

(a)  Was formed, prior to a telephone solicitation, through a voluntary, two-way communication between a seller or telephone solicitor and a residential subscriber, with or without consideration, on the basis of an application, purchase, ongoing contractual agreement, or commercial transaction between the parties regarding products or services offered by such seller or telephone solicitor;

(b)  Has not been previously terminated by either party; and

(c)  Currently exists or has existed within the immediately preceding eighteen (18) months.

(4)  "Goods" means any property, tangible or intangible, real, personal or mixed, and any other article, commodity, or thing of value.

(5)  "Minor" means any person less than eighteen (18) years of age.

(6)  "Newspaper of general circulation" means a newspaper which holds a second class mailing permit from the United States postal service, has at least two hundred (200) subscribers, is made up of at least four (4) pages of at least five (5) columns, is not produced through any type of mimeographing process, and has been published or distributed within the state of Idaho on a weekly basis for at least seventy-eight (78) consecutive weeks, or on a daily basis, which is defined to be no less than five (5) days of any one (1) week, at least twelve (12) months immediately preceding any telephone solicitation done by or on behalf of such newspaper.

(7)  "Person" means natural persons, partnerships, both limited and general, corporations, both foreign and domestic, companies, trusts, business entities, associations, both incorporated and unincorporated, and any other legal entity or any group associated in fact although not a legal entity, or any agent, assign, heir, servant, employee or representative thereof.

(8)  "Purchaser" means a person who is solicited to become or does become obligated to a telephone solicitor.

(9)  "Services" means any work, labor, help, assistance or instruction wherever provided or performed.

(10) "Telephone directory of general circulation" means a directory containing telephone numbers of individual residents and/or businesses which is published on a community-wide or regional basis and which is widely available to persons residing in such community or region through free distribution or direct purchase of said directory without the requirement of other purchases or affiliations.

(11) "Telephone solicitation" means:

(a)  Any unsolicited telephone call to a purchaser for the purpose of asking, inducing, inviting, requesting, or encouraging the purchaser to purchase or invest in goods or services during the course of a telephone call; or

(b)  Any communication in which:

(i)   A free gift, award, or prize is offered, or in which it is represented or implied that goods or services are offered below the regular price of the goods or services; and

(ii)  A return telephone call is invited or the communication is followed up by a call to the purchaser by the telephone solicitor; and

(iii) It is intended during the course of the return or follow-up call with the purchaser that an agreement to purchase, or a purchase be made.

(c)  For purposes of this subsection, "communication" means a written or oral statement or notification or advertisement transmitted to the purchaser through any means.

(12) "Telephone solicitor" means any person who, on his own behalf or through other persons or through use of an automatic dialing-announcing device, engages in a telephone solicitation.

(13) "Unsolicited advertisement" means any advertisement offering goods or services which is transmitted to any person without that person’s prior express invitation or permission unless an established business relationship exists between the sender and recipient which has not been terminated by either party.

(14) "Written confirmation" means a writing that includes the following information: the date of purchase, the telephone solicitor’s complete address and registration number, a listing of all goods and/or services purchased, a listing of the price of each good and/or service purchased, the total obligation incurred by the purchaser, and the notice of cancellation as set forth in subsection (2) of section 48-1004, Idaho Code.

History:

[48-1002, added 1992, ch. 27, sec. 1, p. 83; am. 1998, ch. 331, sec. 1, p. 1064; am. 2000, ch. 452; sec. 2, p. 1422; am. 2004, ch. 102, sec. 1, p. 358.]