CHAPTER 19-A. PROMOTIONAL CONTESTS

§1721. Promotional contests; prerequisites for lawful promotion

A.(1) Unless written disclosure is made as provided in Subsection B of this Section, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to offer in writing a prize or gift to a consumer as part of any advertising or sales promotion plan, if, in order to claim the prize or gift, the consumer is given, invited, required, or requested to submit to a sales presentation or promotional program.

(2) Unless verbal disclosure is made as provided in Subsection B of this Section, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to offer verbally a prize or gift to a consumer as part of any advertising or sales promotion plan, if, in order to claim the prize or gift, the consumer is given, invited, required, or requested to submit to a sales presentation or promotional program.

B. Such disclosure must be provided to the consumer at the time he is notified of the prize or gift. The disclosure must contain all of the following:

(1) A full description of the exact prize or gift tendered to the consumer, including its cash value.

(2) All terms and conditions attached to the prize or gift.

(3) A statement that the consumer is given, invited, required, or requested to submit to a sales presentation or promotional program.

(4) A full description of the product, real estate, investment, services, membership, or any other item to be offered for sale, including the price of the least expensive and the most expensive item or parcel.

C. Any prize, gift, or other item offered pursuant to a prize and gift promotional offer must be delivered to the prospective purchaser whether or not he or she purchases the product offered for sale. If the prize, gift, or other item is valued at two hundred dollars or less, or is a vacation certificate, it must be delivered on the day the recipient appears to claim it. If the prize, gift, or other item is valued in excess of two hundred dollars or if ordered supplies of the item have been exhausted, a gift voucher describing the item must be offered. Such vouchers shall state that the company giving the item will provide the described item within fourteen days following issuance of the voucher or will pay to the offeree the manufacturer's suggested price or, if there is no such price, the verifiable retail value.

D. If the prize or gift is a "free vacation", there can be no hidden promotional fees, voucher fees, processing fees, or other such fees, and all airline fares, hotel expenses, and other items must have previously been paid. If a "free vacation" is provided by a person, firm, or corporation located outside Louisiana, that person, firm, or corporation must comply with all applicable laws for conducting business in Louisiana. If any shipping, handling, processing, or other fees or charges are to be borne by the recipient, the gift cannot be advertised as free to the consumer.

E.(1) Any contract in excess of five hundred dollars resulting from a transaction in which a consumer is given, invited, required, or requested to submit to a sales presentation or promotional program as a condition of receiving a prize or gift shall afford the consumer a right to cancel at any time prior to midnight of the third business day following the day on which the contract is signed. Such contract shall contain the following disclosure in ten point, bold face type on the face of the contract:

"CONSUMER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL

You may cancel this contract at any time prior to midnight of the third business day following the day on which this contract is signed. Cancellation takes place when you mail, by certified mail, a notice of your cancellation to the following address."

(2) The notice of cancellation privilege shall not apply:

(a) If a cancellation privilege of more than three days is created in other statutes and notice is given as required by such statutes, or

(b) To contracts subject to 16 Code of Federal Regulations 429.

F. The provisions of this Section shall not apply when:

(1) Participants are only asked to complete and mail, or deposit at a local retail commercial establishment, an entry blank obtainable locally or by mail.

(2) Participants are not asked to, required to, requested to, or invited to submit to or listen to a sales presentation or promotional program.

Added by Acts 1983, No. 527, §1. Acts 1986, No. 797, §1; Acts 1987, No. 488, §1; Acts 1993, No. 333, §1.

{{NOTE: SECTION 2 OF ACTS 1983, NO. 527, §2, PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS: "THIS CHAPTER SHALL NOT APPLY TO TIMESHARE OR INTERVAL OWNERSHIP PLANS IF HOUSE BILL NO. 1169 OF THE 1983 REGULAR SESSION BECOMES LAW." H.B. NO. 1169 WAS ENACTED AS ACTS 1983, NO. 552.}}