Difference between revisions of "Miscellaneous Consumer Protection Legal Information (11:VIII)"

In the Telemarketer Licensing Regulation, BC Reg 83/2005 [TLR}, “telemarketer” is defined as “a supplier who engages in the business or  occupation of initiating contact with a consumer by telephone or facsimile for the purpose of conducting a consumer transaction.”Section  4(1) of the TLR requires that a telemarketer have a license for each location in which they conduct business. Section 7 outlines the various records a telemarketer must keep for each sales contract entered into, and stipulates that the records be maintained for a period  of two years after the contract is entered into by the consumer. Section 8 of the TLR prohibits several acts and practices by telemarketers.  Section  8(2)  prohibits contacting a consumer by either phone or fax on (a) statutory holidays, (b) outside of the hours of 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturdays or Sundays, and (c) outside of the hours of 9 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. on any other day. Section 8(3) prohibits contacting a consumer more than once in 30 days for the same transaction. Section 8(4) prohibits telemarketers from blocking their number on the call display of the consumer. Section  8(5)  requires  that,  before  the  consumer  enters  into  a  contract  or  commits  to  contributing money,  a  telemarketer  acting  on  behalf  of  a  supplier  disclose  (a)  the  name,  business  address  and telephone number of the supplier, or (b) the purpose of the contribution if requesting a donation. D.        Repairer’s Liens The Repairer’s  Lien  Act  [RLA],  which  codifies  the  common  law  possessory  lien,  offers  an  extremely powerful  collection  tool  for  those  who  repair  or  do  other  work  on  chattels.  With  respect  to  any chattel, it allows the repairer to simply retain possession of the goods until paid and, if payment is not forthcoming, to sell the goods to recover the cost of the repair. In addition, for a limited category of chattels,  the  most  important  of  which  is  motor  vehicles,  the  RLA,  if  followed  precisely,  allows  the repairer to maintain and enforce a lien on a vehicle, even after it has been returned to the owner. This is  a  common  consumer  problem  encountered  by  individuals  whose  vehicles  have  been  seized  by  a bailiff  following  a  dispute  over  the  amount  of  a  repair  bill.  The  most  important  requirement  for  a valid  repairer’s  lien  is  that  the  repairer,  after  doing  the  work  but  before  releasing  possession  of  the vehicle,  must  get  the  owner  to  sign  an  acknowledgement  of indebtedness  (often  included  as  part  of the repair invoice). The repairer then has 21 days to file a lien in the Personal Property Registry and, if everything  has  been  done  properly,  the  lien  remains  valid  for  a  period  of  six  months  and  can  be renewed  for  an  additional  six  months.  At  any  time  while  the  lien  is  subsisting,  the  garage  keeper  or repairer can have the vehicle seized by a bailiff.