Law / United States / 
Oregon
Oregon Registration of Telephonic Sellers
In force.
A telephone contact rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Licensing, Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- If you cause or attempt a telephone solicitation of a business opportunity, or represent that a buyer will receive additional units without further cost or a prize or gift for buying or paying, a below-market price because of an unusual event or imminent price increase, or a seller, manufacturer or supplier other than the real one, or you sell gold, silver, other precious metals, precious stones, or an interest in oil, gas or a mineral field, well or exploration site by telephone, register with the Department of Justice at least 10 days before doing business in Oregon and pay the $400 annual fee, whether you call from Oregon or into Oregon.
- This registration duty does not reach, among others, a securities seller, a real estate, construction-contractor or insurance licensee acting within that license, a franchise seller governed by Oregon's franchise law, a newspaper, magazine or negative-option subscription seller, a person soliciting prior purchasers of the business it calls for (unless selling a business opportunity), a person who completes the sale only at a later face-to-face meeting, a supervised financial institution or its affiliate, an issuer registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or its subsidiary, or a registered charity.
- When you represent free items, offer metals, stones or minerals or an oil, gas or mineral interest, or offer office equipment or supplies below usual prices, give the prospective purchaser, at the time of the solicitation and before any sale, the street address you are calling from, your principal address, and the further information ORS 646.557 lists for that kind of offer.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionYes
Statutory damages
Available under Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act, ORS 646.638, only to a person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property from another person's willful violation of the registration or disclosure duty; recovery is the greater of actual damages or $200 statutory damages per action, not a per-call amount, plus possible punitive damages and attorney fees.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per person minimum
- 200
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Attorney General under ORS 646.553(6) and the Unlawful Trade Practices Act; a private civil action under ORS 646.638 for a willful violation.
What this law does
A telephonic seller is defined narrowly to reach a person who causes a telephone solicitation of a business opportunity, or who solicits by phone while representing that a buyer will receive additional units without further cost or a prize or gift for buying or paying, that an unusual event or price increase justifies a below-market price, that the seller, manufacturer or supplier is other than the real one, or who is selling gold, silver or another precious metal, a precious stone, or an interest in oil, gas or a mineral field, well or exploration site.
Such a seller must register with the Department of Justice at least 10 days before conducting business in Oregon, whether calling from inside or into the state, and pay a $400 annual fee; individual employees need not register separately.
The definition excludes, among others, a securities seller, a person licensed in real estate, construction contracting or insurance acting within that license, a franchise seller governed by Oregon's franchise law, a newspaper, magazine or negative-option subscription seller, a person soliciting prior purchasers of the business it calls for (unless selling a business opportunity), a person who completes the sale only at a later face-to-face meeting, a supervised financial institution or its affiliate, a funeral, cable or regulated-utility seller, an issuer registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or its subsidiary, and a registered charity.
When a telephonic seller represents free items, offers metals, stones or minerals or an oil, gas or mineral interest, or offers office equipment or supplies below usual prices, it must, at the time of the solicitation and before any sale, give the street address it is calling from and its principal address and the further information the section lists for that kind of offer.
A violation of the registration or disclosure duty is an unlawful trade practice, letting a person who suffers an ascertainable loss from a willful violation sue under ORS 646.638 for actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees, in addition to the Attorney General's own enforcement powers.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.