TN Code § 47-18-104 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 47 - Commercial Instruments and Transactions|Chapter 18 - Consumer Protection|Part 1 - Consumer Protection Act of 1977|§ 47-18-104. Unfair or Deceptive Acts Prohibited

  Unfair or deceptive acts or practices affecting the conduct of any trade or commerce constitute unlawful acts or practices and are Class B misdemeanors.   The following unfair or deceptive acts or practices affecting the conduct of any trade or commerce are declared to be unlawful and in violation of this part:  Falsely passing off goods or services as those of another;   Causing likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, approval or certification of goods or services. This subdivision (b)(2) does not prohibit the private labeling of goods and services;   Causing likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding as to affiliation, connection or association with, or certification by, another. This subdivision (b)(3) does not prohibit the private labeling of goods or services;   Using deceptive representations or designations of geographic origin in connection with goods or services;   Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits or quantities that they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship approval, status, affiliation or connection that such person does not have;   Representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered to the point of decreasing the value, reconditioned, reclaimed, used or secondhand;   Representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality or grade, or that goods are of a particular style or model, if they are of another;   Disparaging the goods, services or business of another by false or misleading representations of fact;   Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell them as advertised;   Advertising goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity;   Making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions;   Representing that a consumer transaction confers or involves rights, remedies or obligations that it does not have or involve or which are prohibited by law;   Representing that a service, replacement or repair is needed when it is not;   Causing confusion or misunderstanding with respect to the authority of a salesperson, representative or agent to negotiate the final terms of a consumer transaction;   Failing to disclose that a charge for the servicing of any goods in whole or in part is based on a predetermined rate or charge, or guarantee or warranty, instead of the value of the services actually performed;   Disconnecting, turning back, or resetting the odometer of any motor vehicle so as to reduce the number of miles indicated on the odometer gauge, except as provided for in § 39-14-132(b);   Advertising of any sale by falsely representing that a person is going out of business;   Using or employing a chain referral sales plan in connection with the sale or offer to sell of goods, merchandise, or anything of value, which uses the sales technique, plan, arrangement or agreement in which the buyer or prospective buyer is offered the opportunity to purchase goods or services and, in connection with the purchase, receives the seller's promise or representation that the buyer shall have the right to receive compensation or consideration in any form for furnishing to the seller the names of other prospective buyers if the receipt of compensation or consideration is contingent upon the occurrence of an event subsequent to the time the buyer purchases the merchandise or goods;   Representing that a guarantee or warranty confers or involves rights or remedies which it does not have or involve; provided, that nothing in this subdivision (b)(19) shall be construed to alter the implied warranty of merchantability as defined in § 47-2-314;   Selling or offering to sell, either directly or associated with the sale of goods or services, a right of participation in a pyramid distributorship. As used in this subdivision (b)(20), a “pyramid distributorship” means any sales plan or operation for the sale or distribution of goods, services or other property wherein a person for a consideration acquires the opportunity to receive a pecuniary benefit, which is not primarily contingent on the volume or quantity of goods, services or other property sold or delivered to consumers, and is based upon the inducement of additional persons, by such person or others, regardless of number, to participate in the same plan or operation;   Using statements or illustrations in any advertisement which create a false impression of the grade, quality, quantity, make, value, age, size, color, usability or origin of the goods or services offered, or which may otherwise misrepresent the goods or services in such a manner that later, on disclosure of the true facts, there is a likelihood that the buyer may be switched from the advertised goods or services to other goods or services;   Using any advertisement containing an offer to sell goods or services when the offer is not a bona fide effort to sell the advertised goods or services. An offer is not bona fide, even though the true facts are subsequently made known to the buyer, if the first contact or interview is secured by deception;   Representing in any advertisement a false impression that the offer of goods has been occasioned by a financial or natural catastrophe when such is not true, or misrepresenting the former price, savings, quality or ownership of any goods sold;   Assessing a penalty for the prepayment or early payment of a fee or charge for services by a utility or company which has been issued a franchise license by a municipal governing body to provide services. Nothing in this subdivision (b)(24) shall be construed to prohibit a discount from being offered for early payment of the applicable fee or charge for services. This subdivision (b)(24) does not apply to a utility or company whose billing statement reflects charges both for service previously rendered and in advance of services provided;   Discriminating against any disabled individual, as defined by §§ 47-18-802(b) and 55-21-102(3), in violation of the Tennessee Equal Consumer Credit Act of 1974, compiled in part 8 of this chapter. This subdivision (b)(25) does not apply to any creditor or credit card issuer regulated by the department of financial institutions. The attorney general shall refer any complaint against such a creditor or credit card issuer involving the Equal Consumer Credit Act to such department for investigation and disposition;   Violating § 65-5-106;   Engaging in any other act or practice which is deceptive to the consumer or to any other person; provided, however, that enforcement of this subdivision (b)(27) is vested exclusively in the office of the attorney general and reporter;      Failing of a motor vehicle repair facility to return to a customer any parts which were removed from the motor vehicle and replaced during the process of repair if the customer, at the time repair work was authorized, requested return of such parts; provided, that any part retained by the motor vehicle repair facility as part of a trade-in agreement or core charge agreement for a reconditioned part need not be returned to the customer unless the customer agrees to pay the facility the additional core charge or other trade-in fee; and provided further, that any part required to be returned to a manufacturer or distributor under a warranty agreement or any part required by any federal or state statute or rule or regulation to be disposed of by the facility need not be returned to the customer; or   Failing of a motor vehicle repair facility to permit inspection of any parts retained by the repair facility if the customer, at the time repair work was authorized, expressed the customer's desire to inspect such parts; provided, that if, after inspection, the customer requests return of such parts, the restrictions set forth in subdivision (b)(28)(A)(i) shall apply;       Failing of a motor vehicle repair facility to post in a prominent location notice of the provisions of this subdivision (b)(28); or   Failing of a motor vehicle repair facility to print on the repair contract notice of the provisions of this subdivision (b)(28);     The motor vehicle repair facility need not retain any parts not returned to the customer after the motor vehicle has been returned to the customer;     Advertising that a business is “going out of business” more than ninety (90) days before such business ceases to operate;   Failing to comply with §§ 6-55-401 — 6-55-413, where a municipality has adopted the regulations of liquidation sales pursuant to § 6-55-413;   Offering lottery winnings in exchange for making a purchase or incurring a monetary obligation pursuant to § 47-18-120;    The act of misrepresenting the geographic location of a person through a business name or listing in a local telephone directory or on the Internet is an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting the conduct of trade or commerce, if:   The name misrepresents the person's geographic location; or   The listing fails to clearly and conspicuously identify the locality and state of the person's business;   Calls to the listed telephone number are routinely forwarded or otherwise transferred to a person's business location that is outside the calling area covered by the local telephone directory, or that is outside the local calling area for the telephone number that is listed on the Internet;   The person's business location is located in a county that is not contiguous to a county in the calling area covered by the local telephone directory, or is located in a county that is not contiguous to a county in the local calling area for the telephone number that is listed on the Internet; and   The person does not have a business location or branch, or an affiliate or subsidiary of the person does not have a business location or branch, in the calling area or county contiguous to the local calling area.     This subdivision (b)(32) shall not apply:   To a telecommunications service provider, an Internet service provider, or to the publisher or distributor of a local telephone directory unless the act is on behalf of the Internet or telecommunications service provider or on behalf of the publisher or distributor of the local telephone directory; or   To the act of listing a number for a call center. For purposes of this subdivision (b)(32)(B)(ii), “call center” means a location that utilizes telecommunication services for activities related to an existing customer relationship, including, but not limited to, customer services, reactivating dormant accounts or receiving reservations.     Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, and without limiting the scope of § 47-18-104, a violation of this subdivision (b)(32) shall be punishable by a nonremedial civil penalty of a minimum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. Civil penalties assessed under this subdivision (b)(32) are separate and apart from the remedial civil penalties authorized in § 47-18-108(b)(3).   This subdivision (b)(32) applies only to information supplied to a telephone directory published after July 1, 2008, information that is published on the Internet after July 1, 2008, or to information supplied for entry into a directory assistance database after July 1, 2008;     Advertising that a person is an electrician for hire when such person has not been licensed by a local jurisdiction to perform electrical work within such jurisdiction or by the state as a limited licensed electrician or contractor, as appropriate or, if no such licenses are then available, such person is not registered with the state;   Unreasonably raising prices or unreasonably restricting supplies of essential goods, commodities or services in direct response to a crime, act of terrorism, war, or natural disaster, regardless of whether such crime, act of terrorism, war, or natural disaster occurred in the state of Tennessee;   Representing that a person is a licensed contractor when such person has not been licensed as required by § 62-6-103 or § 62-6-502; or, acting in the capacity of a contractor as defined in § 62-6-102(4)(A), § 62-6-102(7) or § 62-6-501, and related rules and regulations of the state of Tennessee, or any similar statutes, rules and regulations of another state, while not licensed;    Using any advertisement for a workshop, seminar, conference, or other meeting that contains a reference to a living trust or a revocable living trust, or that otherwise offers advice or counsel on estate taxation unless such advertisement also includes the information required in this subdivision (b)(36);   An advertisement as provided in this subdivision (b)(36) shall, at a minimum, include the following:   The maximum exclusion for federal estate tax purposes and the maximum exemption for state inheritance tax purposes for the year in which the advertisement appears;   Includes a statement that certain property, including real property, insurance proceeds, deposit accounts, stocks and retirement fund, may be taxable or not taxable, depending on how legal title is held or beneficiary designation is made, or both;   Includes a statement that certain property may be transferred through several different means including, but not limited to, joint ownership of property with rights of survivorship, joint deposit accounts, beneficiary designations or elections permitted under retirement plans, insurance policies, trusts, or wills; and   A statement that before creating any transfer through a living trust, revocable living trust, or otherwise, the individual should seek advice from an attorney, accountant or other tax professional to determine the true tax impact and ensure that assets are properly transferred into any trust;     The disclosure required in this subdivision (b)(36) shall be printed in not less than 10-point type;   This subdivision (b)(36) shall not apply to an advertisement by any attorney, law firm, bank, savings institution, trust company, or registered securities broker-dealer which is directed to clients or customers of such person with whom such person has had a client or customer relationship within the prior two (2) years. This subdivision (b)(36) shall also not apply to any continuing education seminars or conferences conducted for the benefit of bankers, attorneys, accountants, or other professional financial advisors;     Refusing to accept the return of clothing or accessories sold at retail directly to a purchaser, who seeks to return the same for any reason for refund or credit; provided, that:  The purchaser presents the clothing or accessories within the retailer's prescribed period for return of merchandise;   The purchaser presents satisfactory proof of purchase;   The merchandise is, in no way, damaged and exhibits no sign of wear or cleaning;   All tags and stickers affixed or attached to the merchandise at the time of sale remain affixed or attached at the time of return; and   The sale of the merchandise was not marked, advertised or otherwise characterized as “final”, “no return”, “no refunds”, or in any manner reasonably indicating that the merchandise would not be accepted for return;      Requiring the purchaser to present that purchaser's driver license as a prerequisite for accepting the return of clothing or accessories for refund or credit, notwithstanding compliance with the conditions set forth in subdivision (b)(37), unless such a requirement is for the purpose of preventing fraud and abuse;   Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (b)(37) or (b)(38)(A) to the contrary, return denials are permitted for the purpose of preventing fraud and abuse;     Representing that a person, or such person's agent, authorized designee or delegee for hire, has conducted a foreclosure on real property, when such person knew or should have known that a foreclosure was not actually conducted on the real property;    Selling or offering to sell a secondhand mattress in this state or importing secondhand mattresses into this state for the purpose of resale in violation of § 68-15-203(b);   Subdivision (b)(40)(A) shall apply to a mattress manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer. Subdivision (b)(40)(A) shall not apply to an institution or organization that has received a determination of exemption from the internal revenue service under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), and as described in § 67-6-348. The exemption provided in this subdivision (b)(40)(B) shall be limited to institutions or organizations that are not organized or operated for profit, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual;      Knowingly advertising or marketing for sale a newly constructed residence as having more bedrooms than are permitted by the newly constructed residence's subsurface sewage disposal system permit, as defined in § 68-221-402, unless prior to the execution of any sales agreement the permitted number of bedrooms is disclosed in writing to the buyer. The real estate licensee representing the owner may rely upon information furnished by the owner;   If a newly constructed residence is marketed for sale as having more bedrooms than are permitted by the subsurface sewage disposal system permit and no disclosure of the actual number of bedrooms permitted occurs prior to the execution of a sales agreement, then the buyer shall have the right to rescind the sales agreement and may recover treble damages as provided in § 47-18-109;   A subsurface sewage disposal system permit issued in the name of the owner of a newly constructed residence shall serve as constructive notice to that owner of the newly constructed residence for the purpose of establishing knowledge as to the number of bedrooms of the newly constructed residence for the purpose of finding a violation of this subdivision (b)(41). A real estate licensee representing the owner must have actual knowledge transmitted from the owner to the real estate licensee to be in violation of this subdivision (b)(41);     Offering, through the mail or by other means, a check that contains an obligation to advertise with a person upon the endorsement of the check. The obligation is effective upon the check being signed and deposited into the consumer's bank account;   The act or practice of directly or indirectly:  Making representations that a person will pay or reimburse for a motor vehicle traffic citation for any person who purchases a device or mechanism, passive or active, that can detect or interfere with a radar, laser or other device used to measure the speed of motor vehicles;   Advertising, promoting, selling or offering for sale any radar jamming device that includes any active or passive device, instrument, mechanism, or equipment that interferes with, disrupts, or scrambles the radar or laser that is used by law enforcement agencies and officers to measure the speed of motor vehicles; or   Advertising, promoting, selling or offering for sale any good or service that is illegal or unlawful to sell in the state;     Violating § 47-18-5402;    Installing, offering to install, or making available for installation, reinstallation or update a covered file-sharing program onto a computer without being an authorized user of that computer or without first providing clear and conspicuous notice to the authorized user of the computer that the files on that computer will be made available to the public, obtaining consent of the authorized user to installation of the program, and requiring affirmative steps by the authorized user to activate any feature on the program that will make files on that computer available to the public; or   Preventing reasonable efforts to disable or remove, or to block the installation or execution of, a covered file-sharing program on a computer;      The act or practice of directly or indirectly advertising, promoting, selling, or offering for sale international driver's licenses. It is a per se violation of this subdivision (b)(46) to:   Misrepresent that any international driver's license sold or offered for sale confers a privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the streets and highways in this state; or   Represent that any international driver's license sold or offered for sale is of a particular standard, quality or grade;     For purposes of this subdivision (b)(46), unless the context otherwise requires:   “International driver's license” means a document that purports to confer a privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the streets and highways in this state and is not issued by a governmental entity. Such document may be an imitation of an international driving permit; and   “International driving permit” means the document issued by a duly authorized automobile association to a holder of a valid driver license which grants such holder the privilege to operate a motor vehicle in countries or international bodies that are signatory parties to Article 24 of the 1949 United Nations Convention on Road Traffic, pursuant to 3 U.S.T. § 3008;     Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, and without limiting the scope of this section, a violation of this subdivision (b)(46) shall be punishable by a non-remedial civil penalty of a minimum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to a maximum of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per violation. Civil penalties assessed under this subdivision (b)(46) are separate and apart from the remedial civil penalties authorized in § 47-18-108(b)(3);     A home improvement services provider:  Entering into a contract for home improvement services without providing to the residential owner in written form:   That it is a criminal offense for the person entering into the contract for home improvement services with a residential owner to do any of the prohibited acts set out in § 39-14-154(b), by writing out the text of each prohibited act, and providing the penalty and available relief for such; and   The true and correct name, physical address and telephone number of the home improvement services provider; or     Having complied with subdivision (b)(47)(A), failing to provide to the residential owner in written form a correct current or forwarding address if the person changes the physical address initially provided to the residential owner and any or all work to be performed under the contract has not been completed;     Failing to comply with title 62, chapter 6, part 6;   Engaging in a Ponzi scheme, defined as a fraudulent investment scheme in which money placed by later investors pays artificially high dividends to the original investor, thereby attracting even larger investments;   Making fraudulent statements or intentional omissions in order to induce a consumer to sell securities or other things of value to fund an investment;   Advertising services for the provision of a warranty for a motor vehicle, as defined in § 55-8-101, in a deceptive manner that is likely to cause the owner of the motor vehicle to believe that the advertisement originated from the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle or from the dealer that sold the motor vehicle to the owner; and   Uses the trade name or trademark, or a confusingly similar trade name or trademark of any place of entertainment, or the name of any event, person, or entity scheduled to perform at a place of entertainment in the domain of a ticket marketplace URL. It is not a violation of this subdivision (b)(52) if the ticket marketplace obtained written authorization from the place of entertainment, event, person, or entity scheduled to perform at a place of entertainment to use the trade name, trademark, or name in the domain of the URL prior to the use. For purposes of this subdivision (b)(52):  “Domain” means the portion of text in a URL that is to the left of the top-level domains such as .com, .net, or .org;   “Place of entertainment” means an entertainment facility in this state, such as a theater, stadium, museum, arena, amphitheater, racetrack, or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, games, athletic events, or contests are held;   “Ticket” means a printed, electronic, or other type of evidence of the right, option, or opportunity to occupy space at, to enter, or to attend a place of entertainment, even if not evidenced by any physical manifestation of the right, option, or opportunity; and   “Ticket marketplace” means a website that provides a forum for or facilitates the buying and selling, or reselling, of a ticket.       The following are among the acts or practices which will be considered in determining if an offer to sell goods or services is not bona fide:  Refusal to reasonably show, demonstrate or sell the goods or services offered in accordance with the terms of the offer;   Disparagement by acts or words of the advertised goods or services or disparagement with respect to the guarantee, credit terms, availability of service, repairs or parts, or in any other respect, in connection with the advertised goods or services;   Failure to make available at all outlets listed in the advertisement a sufficient quantity of the advertised goods or services to meet reasonably expectable public demand, unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses that the availability of a particular good is limited and/or the goods or services are available only at designated outlets, or unless the advertisement discloses that a particular good is to be closed out or offered for a limited time. In the event of an inadequate inventory, issuing of “rain checks” for goods or offering comparable or better goods at the sale price may be considered a good faith effort to make the advertised goods available, unless there is a pattern of inadequate inventory or unless the inadequate inventory was intentional. If rain checks are offered, the goods must be delivered within a reasonable time;   Refusal to take orders or give rain checks for the advertised goods or services, when the advertisement does not disclose their limited quantity or availability to be delivered within a reasonable period of time;   Showing or demonstrating goods or services which are defective, unusable or impractical for the purpose represented or implied in the advertisement when such defective, unusable or impractical nature is not fairly and adequately disclosed in the advertisement; and   Use of a sales plan or method of compensating or penalizing salespersons designed to prevent or discourage them from selling the advertised goods or services. This does not prohibit compensating salespersons by use of a commission.     The fact that a seller occasionally sells the advertised goods or services at the advertised price does not constitute a defense when the seller's overall purpose is to engage in bait and switch tactics.   Nothing in § 47-18-103(1) or subdivisions (b)(21)-(23) and subsections (c) and (d) shall prevent a seller from advertising goods and services with the hope that consumers will buy goods or services in addition to those advertised.   For the purposes of subsection (b), investment does not include a security defined in § 48-1-102 or any insurance or annuity contract.