§ 42-285 — Contract requirements.

(a) No oral agreement made by a consumer to purchase, lease or rent goods or services from a telemarketer shall be a binding, valid or enforceable contract against the consumer unless the telemarketer receives from the consumer a written and signed contract that discloses in full the terms of the sale, lease or rental agreement. Any goods sent or services provided to a consumer by a telemarketer without such written contract shall be deemed to be an unconditional gift to the consumer without any obligation by the consumer to the telemarketer. (b) The contract shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following information: (1) The legal name, address, telephone number, headquarters address and home state or country for entity registration purposes of the telemarketer or, if the telemarketer is not the seller, the seller; (2) A list of all prices or fees being charged including any handling, shipping, delivery or other charges; (3) The date of the transaction; (4) A detailed description of the goods or services being sold, leased or rented; and (5) In ten-point boldface type, in a space immediately preceding the space allotted for the consumer's signature, the following statement: “YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT AND RETURN IT TO THE ADDRESS CONTAINED IN THIS CONTRACT”. (c) The telemarketer shall provide the consumer with a duplicate copy of the contract with the complete information as presented in the original contract, to be retained by the consumer as proof of the terms of the agreement to purchase, lease or rent.

Legislative History

(P.A. 96-196, S. 2; P.A. 23-98, S. 10.) History: P.A. 23-98 substantially amended Subsec. (b)(1) by substituting “legal name” for “name” and adding provisions re headquarters address, home state or country for entity registration purposes and seller.