Florida is getting serious about enforcing the Florida Telemarketing Act. If do your business-to-consumer calling from Florida and do not have the proper licensing, you could face hefty fines and jail time.
Joo Yin Han, 36, of Maitland is the latest telemarketing business owner to experience Florida jailhouse hospitality. Details here: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/money/090309_Telemarketer_arrested
The law applies to anyone, not just the business owner. So, if you are a work-from-home telemarketing professional and you live in Florida, you owe it to yourself to acquaint yourself with the licensing requirements. You can get more information here: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/onestop/cs/telemarket.html
From the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website:
“The law requires businesses that solicit the sale of consumer goods or services to be licensed, to post some form of security, and that their salespersons be licensed. It also requires the solicitor to identify him or herself by true first and last name and the name of the business on whose behalf he or she is calling. It requires a written contract that matches the description of the goods or services offered in the telephone solicitation, contains the name, address, telephone number and license number of the seller, and states the buyers right to cancel immediately preceding the signature. The written contract is not required if the consumer is given a full refund for the return of undamaged and unused goods or a cancellation of services within 7 days of receipt of the goods or a cancellation of the services and the seller processes the refund within 30 days after receipt of the returned merchandise by the consumer.”
