[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Pacific 11-20-2012 by Ord. No.
2012-46. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any direct seller to engage in direct
sales within the Town of Pacific without being registered for that
purpose as provided herein.
In this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Includes any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic or charitable
person, partnership, association or corporation, or one purporting
to be such, including, among others, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H
Clubs and school organizations.
Any individual who, for himself/herself, or for a partnership,
association or corporation, sells goods or takes sales orders for
the later delivery of goods at any location other than the permanent
business place or residence of said individual, partnership, association
or corporation, and shall include, but not be limited to, peddlers,
solicitors and transient merchants. For the purpose of this chapter,
the acceptance of a donation in exchange for goods or an order for
goods shall be deemed an act requiring compliance with all of the
regulatory provisions of this chapter, including registration and
the posting of bond.
Includes personal property of any kind and shall include
goods provided incidental to services offered or sold.
A direct seller who, for at least one year prior to the consideration
of the application of this chapter to said merchant, has continuously
operated an established place of business in this Town or has continuously
resided in this Town and now does business from his/her residence.
All humans of any age or sex, partnerships, corporations,
associations, groups, organizations and any other description of a
collection of human beings working in concert or for the same purpose
or objective.
The following shall be exempt from all provisions of this chapter:
A.
Any person delivering newspapers, fuel, dairy products or bakery
goods to regular customers on established routes.
B.
Any person selling goods at wholesale to dealers in such goods.
C.
Any person selling agricultural products which such person has grown.
D.
Any permanent merchant or employee thereof who takes orders away
from the established place of business for goods regularly offered
for sale by such merchant within this county and who delivers such
goods in their regular course of business.
E.
Any person who has an established place of business where the goods
being sold are offered for sale on a regular basis and in which the
buyer has initiated contact with and specifically requested a home
visit by said person.
F.
Any person who has had, or one who represents a company which has
had, a prior business transaction, such as a prior sale or credit
arrangement, with the prospective customer.
G.
Any person selling or offering for sale a service unconnected with
the sale or offering for sale of goods.
H.
Any person holding a sale required by statute or by order of any
court and any person conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant
to law.
I.
Any employee, officer or agent of a charitable organization who engages
in direct sales for or on behalf of said organization, provided that
there is submitted to the Town Clerk proof that such charitable organization
is registered under § 440.42, Wis. Stats. However, any charitable
organization not registered under § 440.42, Wis. Stats,
or which is exempt from that statute's registration requirements,
shall be required to register under this chapter.[1]
J.
Any religious organization having tax-exempt status under the United
States Internal Revenue Code, upon submitting proof thereof to the
Town Clerk.
K.
Any person who claims to be a permanent merchant but against whom
a complaint has been made to the Town Clerk that such person is a
transient merchant, provided that there is submitted to the Town Clerk
proof that such person has leased, for at least one year, or purchased
the premises from which he is conducting business or proof that such
person has conducted such business in this Town for at least one year
prior to the date the complaint was made.
A.
Registration form. Applicants for registration must complete and
return to the Town Clerk a registration form furnished by the Town
Clerk which shall require the following information:
(1)
Name, permanent address and telephone number, and temporary address,
if any;
(2)
Height, weight, color of hair and eyes, and date of birth;
(3)
Name, address and telephone number of the person, firm, association
or corporation that the direct seller represents or is employed by,
or whose merchandise is being sold;
(4)
Temporary address and telephone number from which business will be
conducted, if any;
(5)
Nature of business to be conducted and a brief description of the
goods offered and any services offered;
(6)
Proposed method of delivery of goods, if applicable;
(7)
Make, model and license number of any vehicle to be used by the applicant
in the conduct of his/her business;
(8)
Last cities, villages, towns, not to exceed three, where applicant
conducted similar business just prior to making this registration;
(9)
Place where applicant can be contacted for at least seven days after
leaving this Town; and
(10)
Statement as to whether applicant has been convicted of any
crime or ordinance violation related to applicant's transient merchant
business within the last five years, the nature of the offense and
the place of conviction.
B.
Documentation. Applicants shall present to the Town Clerk for examination:
(1)
A driver's license or some other proof of identity as may be reasonably
required.
(2)
A state certificate of examination and approval from the Sealer of
Weights and Measures where applicant's business requires use of weighing
and measuring devices approved by state authorities.
(3)
A state health officer's certificate where applicant's business involves
the handling of food or clothing and is required to be certified under
state law; such certificate to state that applicant is apparently
free from any contagious or infectious disease, dated not more than
90 days prior to the date the application for license is made.
C.
Completing registration and issuance of license.
(1)
The fee for a direct seller's, solicitor's or canvasser's license
shall be established by the Town Board and shall be set forth in a
resolution adopted by the Town Board. Transient merchants/direct sellers
may employ two assistants without payment of an additional license
fee, but such persons must comply with the other provisions of this
section.
(2)
Upon compliance with all of the requirements set forth in this chapter
and filing of a bond, if applicable, the Clerk shall register the
applicant as a direct seller, transient merchant or solicitor and
issue a license to the applicant. The license shall be operational
only during the days requested on the registration form.
(3)
Such license shall contain the signature of the Clerk, the name and
address of the direct seller, transient merchant or solicitor, the
type of goods or services being sold or the nature of the solicitation,
the dates during which the license is operational, and the license
number of any vehicle used for sales or solicitation.
(4)
Registrants shall exhibit their licenses at the request of any citizen
or police officer.
(5)
Every applicant who intends to take sales orders and down payments
for later delivery of goods or services and is not a resident and
represents a business or organization whose principal place of business
is located outside the State of Wisconsin shall file with the Clerk
a surety bond for a term of one year from the date of issuance of
license, running to the Town, in the amount of $500 with surety approved
by the Town Attorney, conditioned that the applicant comply with all
applicable ordinances of this Town and statutes of the State of Wisconsin
regulating peddlers, canvassers, solicitors and transient merchants.
Such bond shall guarantee to any citizen of this Town that all money
paid as a down payment will be accounted for and applied according
to the representations of the seller and that the property purchased
will be delivered according to the representations of the seller.
Action on such bond may be brought by the person aggrieved and for
whose benefit, among others, bond is given. The surety may, pursuant
to a court order, pay the face amount of the bond to the Clerk of
Courts in which suit is commenced and be relieved of all further liability.
(6)
The applicant shall sign a statement appointing the Town Clerk his/her
agent to accept service of process in any civil action brought against
the applicant arising out of any sale or service performed by the
applicant in connection with the direct sales activities of the applicant
in the event the applicant cannot, after reasonable effort, be served
personally.
A.
Upon receipt of each application, the Town Clerk shall, in consultation
with law enforcement officials, make and complete an investigation
of the statements made in such registration.
B.
The Town Clerk shall refuse to register the applicant if it is determined, pursuant to the investigation above, that the application contains any material omission or materially inaccurate statement; complaints of a material nature have been received against the applicant by authorities in the last cities, villages and towns, not exceeding three, in which the applicant conducted similar business; the applicant was convicted of a crime, statutory violation or ordinance violation within the last five years, the nature of which is directly related to the applicant's fitness to engage in direct selling; or the applicant failed to comply with any applicable provision of § 196-4B above.
C.
In the event that the Clerk shall refuse to issue the applicant a
license, the Clerk shall provide the applicant an opportunity to refute
said reasons for denial of the license. After the Clerk has made a
final determination, the Clerk shall either issue the license or provide
the applicant with written reasons for refusing to issue the license.
Any person denied registration may appeal the denial through
the general appeal procedures provided by ordinance or resolution
of the Town Board or, if none has been adopted, under the provisions
of §§ 68.07 through 68.16, Wis. Stats.
A.
Prohibited practices.
(1)
A direct seller shall be prohibited from calling at any dwelling
or other place between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. except
by appointment; calling at any dwelling or other place where a sign
is displayed bearing the words "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors" or words
of similar meaning; calling at the rear door of any dwelling place;
or remaining on any premises after being asked to leave by the owner,
occupant or other person having authority over such premises.
(2)
A direct seller shall not misrepresent or make false, deceptive or
misleading statements concerning the quality, quantity or character
of any goods offered for sale, the purpose of his/her visit, his/her
identity or the identity of the organization he/she represents. A
charitable organization direct seller shall specifically disclose
what portion of the sale price of goods being offered will actually
be used for the charitable purpose for which the organization is soliciting.
Said portion shall be expressed as a percentage of the sale price
of the goods.
(3)
No direct seller shall impede the free use of sidewalks and streets
by pedestrians and vehicles. Where sales are made from vehicles, all
traffic and parking regulations shall be observed.
(4)
No direct seller shall make any loud noises or use any sound-amplifying
device to attract customers if the noise produced is capable of being
plainly heard outside a one-hundred-foot radius of the source.
(5)
No direct seller shall allow rubbish or litter to accumulate in or
around the area in which he/she is conducting business.
B.
Disclosure requirements.
(1)
After the initial greeting and before any other statement is made
to a prospective customer, a direct seller shall expressly disclose
his/her name, the name of the company or organization he/she is affiliated
with, if any, and the identity of goods or services he/she offers
to sell.
(2)
If any sale of goods is made by a direct seller or any sales order
for the later delivery of goods is taken by the seller, the buyer
shall have the right to cancel said transaction if it involves the
extension of credit or is a cash transaction of more than $25, in
accordance with the procedure as set forth in § 423.203,
Wis. Stats.; the seller shall give the buyer two copies of a typed
or printed notice of that fact. Such notice shall conform to the requirements
of § 423.203(1)(a), (b) and (c), (2) and (3), Wis. Stats.
(3)
If the direct seller takes a sales order for the later delivery of
goods, he/she shall, at the time the order is taken, provide the buyer
with a written statement containing the terms of the agreement; the
amount paid in advance, whether full, partial or no advance payment
is made; the name, address and telephone number of the seller; the
delivery or performance date and whether a guarantee or warranty is
provided and, if so, the terms thereof.
A.
Any license issued under this chapter may be revoked by the Town
Board after notice and hearing if the registrant made any material
omission or materially inaccurate statement in the application for
a license; made any fraudulent, false, deceptive or misleading statement
or representation in the course of engaging in direct sales; violated
any provision of this chapter; or was convicted of any crime or ordinance
or statutory violation which is directly related to the registrant's
fitness to engage in direct selling.
B.
Written notice of the hearing shall be mailed to the seller at the
permanent address shown on the registration at least 15 days, or shall
be served personally on the registrant at least 72 hours, prior to
the time for the hearing; such notice shall contain the time and place
of the hearing and a statement of the facts upon which the hearing
will be based.
Any person convicted of violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-1 of this Code. Each violation and each day a violation continues or occurs shall constitute a separate offense.
