Online Business Phone Or By Email

  

Image by talha khalil from Pixabay

In the past, online businesses were free to target consumers with marketing messages on the phone or by email. The FTC’s new plans would make it illegal for any company to send unwanted marketing messages by phone or email to people who ask not to receive them.

This is not a new law and has been in effect with some modifications since 2006 when the FTC first put the law into action. This week, the FTC announced its intent to bring back rules that would make it illegal for any company to send unwanted marketing messages by phone or email to people who ask not to receive them.

It is a common misconception that just because you are doing business online, you can't be reached by the law. Laws that apply to brick-and-mortar businesses still apply to business conducted over the internet – and in some cases, they may apply more broadly.

The FTC announced its intent to bring back rules that would make it clear what a person's obligations are when they offer or promote their goods or services online. These new guidelines will update a 1992 law intended to protect consumers by requiring disclosures about things like warranties, refunds, and return policies. The new FTC rules would require:

1) clear and conspicuous disclosure of material information about the product or service;

2) disclosure of any material limitation on our ability to provide the service;

3) disclosure of material limitations on our ability to refund your money;

4) disclosure of any terms and conditions necessary for us to provide you with your refund or replacement product;

5) disclosures of

The FTC announced its intent to bring back rules that would make it illegal to mislead consumers about the price of a product or service if the price would be increased at checkout.

"In a world of e-commerce and increased online competition, consumers should not have to worry whether they're being misled," said FTC Chairman Joseph Simons. "Ensuring truth in advertising is a bedrock principle that helps maintain confidence in our economy."

The FTC announced its intent to bring back rules that would make it illegal for debt collectors to call people at home before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., as well as to send them text messages without prior consent, in an effort to improve the experience of Americans who are being pursued by creditors.

The FTC will vote on the proposal later this month; if it succeeds, the new regulations will take effect later this year. The organization argues that debt collectors have been routinely violating existing rules: They’ve been calling people at ridiculous hours and communicating with them via text message when they know full well that getting woken up in the middle of the night is annoying and that sending a text message can be just as intrusive as a phone call.

Debt collectors facing new restrictions from FTC

Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq/Terms.Law from Pixabay

With stricter limits on how debt collectors can contact consumers, more consumers are left unaware of their debts and unable to work out payment plans for themselves.