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Telemarketing

Companies use telemarketing to market their products and find new customers. Before ordering, you should always make sure that you have all the information you need and you understand what the order contains. The right to withdraw within 14 days usually applies in telemarketing.

Check the information

Before you conclude a contract, the telemarketer must tell you:

  • the company’s name
  • main characteristics of the product
  • price of the product
  • delivery costs and other additional charges
  • duration of the contract
  • terms and conditions of the right to withdraw.
  • Other pre-contractual information, including the withdrawal form, can be provided by directing you to a website or similar, where the information should be easy to find.

If you do not have access to the internet, the company must give you the other pre-contractual information by telephone. Regarding the withdrawal form, it is enough that the company tells you of how it can be used and sends it to you in connection with the order confirmation.

When a contract has been concluded, you should receive an order confirmation.

The conclusion of the agreement requires a written confirmation

In telemarketing, the company must submit its offer to the consumer in writing or in some other permanent manner after the sales call.

  • The trader must submit the offer to, for example, your e-mail address or personal customer folder in a way that you can receive the offer in person after the telephone conversation.  The offer may also be submitted personally, for example, by text message, in which case the offer as a whole must fit in the text message, and e.g. a link to the trader’s website in the text message is not sufficient.
  • You must have an effective opportunity to save and copy the offer.

After the telephone conversation, you must accept the offer in writing or in some other permanent manner to make the contract binding. When the offer is delivered to you, you must also be informed that if you do not accept the offer in question in a lasting manner, you will not be bound by the contract and you will not be obliged to pay, return or store the good.

In the event of a dispute, the company must prove that the offer has been delivered to you in accordance with the law and that you have received the above-mentioned notification.

  • If you have not accepted the trader’s offer after the telephone conversation, you will not be bound by the contract and you may not be required to pay, return the product, store the product or take any other action.
  • If you have contacted the trader on your own initiative or if the trader has contacted you at your explicit request, a written confirmation of the conclusion of the contract is not required. For example, if a trader calls you because of your specific message or call request. Written confirmation is also not required for telemarketing of electronic communications services, such as telephone or Internet plans.
Withdrawing and returning telemarketing purchases (in Finnish)

The purpose of telemarketing must be made clear

When a telemarketer calls you, they should tell you at once that the call has a commercial purpose and give you their name and, if necessary, the name of the person on whose behalf they are calling.

A telemarketer may not start the call by

  • promising you a gift, draw prize or some other benefit if you have to order a product and pay for it to obtain the benefit.
  • telling you that the call is about a study or a survey if its purpose is to also market products.

Prices and additional charges

Before a contract is concluded, the company must tell you the final total price which includes taxes, delivery costs and other additional charges. If, because of the nature of the product, the company cannot be reasonably expected to calculate the exact price in advance, the company must explain to you how the price is determined.

You have no obligation to pay any costs which the company did not tell you about before you placed the order.

If additional charges not included in the total price and shipping costs are billed for the order, the company must tell you about them before you place the order. If these costs cannot be calculated in advance, the company must tell you that you may have to pay such additional costs.

Confirmation of order in distance selling

During distance selling, the consumer has the right to obtain a purchase confirmation. If necessary, the company must provide proof that the customer has been provided with such confirmation,  which must be delivered to the consumer:

  •  within a reasonable time from concluding the contract
  • at the latest when the goods are delivered to the consumer
  •  before the provision of the service begins. Such confirmation must contain the information specified by law.

In addition, it must be supplied in a permanent manner, such as by email or in print, which prevents the alteration of the information afterwards.

  •  If such information has been provided to the consumer earlier, in a permanent manner, it does not have to be resubmitted at the confirmation stage. However, in such a case the consumer has the right to obtain confirmation of the conclusion of the contract.
  •  If the delivery time of the goods has not been agreed, the consumer has the right to obtain the goods without any unnecessary delay, and no later than within 30 days of concluding the contract.

    1. Main characteristics of the product:
      – type and description
      – in the case of a standard product, the item name and possible size and colour options
      – in the case of a more complex technical product, a more comprehensive description
    2. Company’s name
    3. Postal address of the company’s head office
    4. The telephone number and e-mail address of the company and, where appropriate, the means of electronic communication by which the consumer can contact the trader quickly and effectively, enabling the consumer to record and reproduce the exchange of messages with the trader unchanged.
    5. Postal address of the company’s office, if other than in Item 3, to which the consumer can send his complaint
    6. The product’s total price, including tax.
      – If an accurate price cannot be calculated in advance, the grounds for calculating the price unit price by weight, volume or length unit
      – total costs by month and invoicing period, in the event of a permanent subscription
      – if necessary, information on if the price has been determined individually on the basis of automated decision-making.
    7. Any delivery or other charges which are not included in the product’s total price. If these cannot be reasonably calculated in advance, the company must inform the customer that such additional costs may occur.
    8. Any charges arising from the use of a telecommunications device for placing an order, if the charge exceeds the basic price, such as telephone and message services subject to an additional charge.
    9. Payment, delivery and other contractual terms and, if needed, customer complaint procedures. For example, the date by which the company commits itself to delivering the goods. If no specific customer complaint practices are in place, this need not be mentioned.
    10. The terms, time limits and procedures related to the consumer’s right to cancel the purchase.
    11. Information indicating that the consumer must cover the costs of returning the goods if the consumer cancels the contract. The consumer must also be informed of the amount of the returning costs if the goods are by nature such that they cannot be returned by ordinary post. In this context, providing the name of one transport company and the return price it will charge is deemed sufficient.
    12. Information on the consumer’s compensation liability if the consumer exercises the right to cancel the purchase after having requested delivery of the service.
    13. Information on the lack of a cancellation right or on the conditions under which the cancellation right may be lost.
    14. Indication of legal liability for defects in goods, digital content and services.
    15. If needed, information on customer support, other after-sales services and warranty, and the terms and conditions applicable to these. In particular, the conditions of after-sales services must be mentioned if they deviate from ordinary conditions.  For example, this should be done if customer service is provided in a language other than that used when placing the order.
    16. Information on the existence of a code of practice and, if needed, on how to obtain a copy of such a code.
    17. The duration of the contract or the terms and conditions for terminating it, if the contract is valid until further notice or its validity continues automatically.
    18. The minimum duration of the consumer’s contractual obligations.
    19. Information on any financial guarantees required by the business from the consumer, and the terms and conditions applicable to such guarantees, such as reserving funds from a payment card.
    20. If necessary, in case of a product containing digital elements, as well as digital content and service:
      – functionality, including applicable technical protection; and
      – compatibility and interoperability of such consumer goodsThe information must be provided to the extent the trader has knowledge or can reasonably be expected to have knowledge.
    21. Information on the options for and ways of placing a dispute before the Consumer Disputes Board or a similar body.
    22. Furthermore, a cancellation form – complying with the template stipulated by the decree issued by the Ministry of Justice – must be supplied or made available to the consumer.