Telemarketing: the hours, the consent and the free trial

This is Puerto Rico’s telemarketing law. It defines telemarketing as a plan, program or campaign conducted to induce the purchase of goods and services through the use of one or more telephones, virtual voice assistants or artificial intelligence, and involving more than one telephone call or text or voice message. And it defines a telephone solicitor as any person, business or company that through the telemarketing process initiates or receives telephone calls or text or voice messages from a specific consumer, when one of the parties is in Puerto Rico. That last phrase matters: it is enough that one of the two parties is here.

A consumer, under this law, is every natural person offered a good or service through telemarketing activity who acquires it as the end recipient, authorizing payment by direct debit from their checking or savings account or credit card. Note that several of Article 5’s prohibitions speak of "the consumer and/or user" and of "the person called", so not all of them depend on your having bought anything. The law also exempts certain callers from the record-keeping requirements: someone calling for the sole purpose of conducting surveys or soliciting the expression of ideas or opinions, or for political and religious reasons; duly registered securities brokers and investment advisers, when the purpose is selling securities; financial institutions authorized to accept deposits and insured by the FDIC or, for a savings and credit cooperative in Puerto Rico, by PROSAD; and insurance companies or other organizations authorized to do business.

• That it be telemarketing under the law: a plan, program or campaign to induce the purchase of goods or services by phone, virtual voice assistant or artificial intelligence, involving more than one call or text or voice message.Verified against the official source
• That one of the parties be located in Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source

• A record of the call or message with its date and time: the time is what proves a violation of the 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. window.
• A record that you asked to stop receiving solicitations from that seller, with the date: the law requires the solicitor to keep a record of the full name, phone number and date of those who asked.
• If it was a trial period: the notice or receipt the law requires them to send, with the terms, the later charge and the date the trial ends.

1. 1

   Step 1: Look at the clock

   It is the easiest rule in the whole law to verify: it is an abusive and prohibited practice to make a telephone solicitation to a residence at any hour other than between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., local time where the person called is. Write down the exact time: that is the evidence.

2. 2

   Step 2: Demand they identify themselves at the start

   Article 4 requires communicating, at the start of the call, text or voice message or use of artificial intelligence and before requesting any payment: the true purpose, the true name of the company or entity calling or writing, and the goods or services offered. Failing that is a prohibited practice on its own. They must also communicate clearly and in detail the total cost of the sale, any restriction or condition on the purchase or use, the cancellation, return or exchange policy, any cost or condition of a prize including the odds of winning and its nature and value, and the exact amount of any offer.

3. 3

   Step 3: Say you want no more calls, and note the date

   It is an abusive and prohibited practice to initiate a telephone solicitation to a person who has previously stated that they do not want to receive telephone solicitations from that specific seller. And the law requires the solicitor to keep in its records the full name and phone number of everyone who stated they do not want solicitations, and the date they notified it. That record must be kept for five (5) years and be accessible to DACO.

4. 4

   Step 4: Prior consent is not optional

   Since the 2024 revision, Article 5 expressly prohibits making a telephone call, including an automated call with no human intervention or using artificial intelligence, or sending a text or voice message, without the prior consent of the consumer and/or user. That is: the robocall and the mass text fall under the same prohibition as a call from a person.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the number shown is not the real one, that is prohibited too

   The law names spoofing without calling it that: it is an abusive and prohibited practice to mask identity to change how the name and phone number appear on caller ID. And on the same list: causing the phone to ring more than five times on a call intended as a telephone solicitation; threatening or intimidating the consumer and using obscene and profane language; and soliciting any kind of incentive to remove negative information from a person’s credit history.

6. 6

   Step 6: In a "free trial", your silence is not a yes

   Article 8 closes it well. Every person or entity that through telemarketing offers free goods or services during a trial period shall send the consumer a notice or receipt including the trial’s terms and conditions, the charge or cost that will apply after it ends, and the date it ends. That notice must include the address and phone number where you can state that you do not wish to receive the goods or services after the term. And the law says it plainly: failure to respond to that notice shall not be understood as acceptance on your part.

7. 7

   Step 7: If the contract came from an unlawful call, you may rescind it

   Article 9 provides that any contract or agreement made as a result of telemarketing activity that violates any section of this law may be rescinded by the consumer, and adds that if rescission is pursued by either party they must go to the judicial forum. That is: the right exists, but the annulment is litigated in court, not at the counter.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has the power to set the regulations to implement this law and to oversee compliance, and it imposes the administrative fines. The telemarketing records the law requires be kept for five years must be accessible to DACO, which makes a complaint with a date and time verifiable. Rescinding a contract born of an unlawful call goes to the judicial forum. And there is a criminal layer: violating this law is a misdemeanor.

• Not noting the time of the call, the easiest proof of the 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. window.
• Asking them to stop calling without recording the date you asked.
• Believing the law only covers voice calls: since 2024 it reaches text messages, voice messages, virtual assistants and artificial intelligence.
• Assuming an automated robocall is allowed: the law requires prior consent just as for a human call.
• Letting a "free trial" that turned into a charge slide, when failure to respond does not count as acceptance.
• Accepting a charge to your account or card without express and verifiable authorization bearing your signature.
• Not complaining about a masked number on caller ID, which the law expressly prohibits.
• Bringing a debt collection call under this law, which is governed by other rules.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO)

  DACO

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• DACO services

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov