[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Nutley 10-6-1970 by Ord. No. 1730 (Ch. 10 of the 1978 Code).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 131.
[Amended 7-18-1972 by Ord. No. 1757; 4-1-2014 by Ord. No.
3279]
There is hereby established a Department of
Consumer Protection within the Department of Public Affairs whose
function it shall be to protect against unlawful activities practiced
upon consumers. The Department shall enforce all applicable federal
and state statutes and rules and regulations affecting consumers.
As hereinafter referred to, the following definitions
shall be applicable:
A person authorized under this chapter to conduct inquiries
into the sale or offer for sale of any goods, services or merchandise
within the Township of Nutley.
Any natural person or his legal representative, partnership,
corporation, company, trust, business entity or association, or any
agent, employee, salesman, partner, officer, director, member, stockholder,
associate or trustee thereof.
Any transaction, including internet transactions, conducted
within the Township limits wherein, for value received, a person sells
or offers to sell, trade or barter any item or service.
[Amended 4-1-2014 by Ord. No. 3279]
Township of Nutley, County of Essex, State of New Jersey.
[Amended 7-18-1972 by Ord. No. 1757; 4-1-2014 by Ord. No.
3279]
Within the Department of Consumer Protection
there shall be an Investigator, and such other persons as the Director
shall deem necessary. The head of the Department shall be designated
and appointed by the Director of the Department of Public Affairs.
The Department of Consumer Protection shall,
in addition to its other powers and duties vested in it by this chapter
or any other law:
A.
Receive, investigate and take appropriate action upon
complaints or information received from citizens of the Township.
"Appropriate action" is hereby deemed to include, but not to be limited
to, initiation of a complaint in the Municipal Court[1] of the Township of Nutley alleging the violation of this
chapter and prosecuting the alleged offender before that Court.
C.
Have the authority to conduct hearings in aid of any
investigation or inquiry, issue subpoenas to any person within the
Township of Nutley, administer an oath or affirmation to any persons
within the Township of Nutley and promulgate such rules and regulations
as are deemed necessary and proper to the functioning of the Department.
D.
All consumer complaints shall be forwarded to the Office of the New
Jersey State Attorney General, as required by law.
[Added 4-1-2014 by Ord. No. 3279]
Any person who shall act, use or attempt to
use any deception, false pretense, fraud, misrepresentation or false
promise, or who shall knowingly conceal, omit or suppress any material
fact with the intent that other persons rely on such concealment,
omission or suppression as a part of or in connection with the sale,
attempt to sell or advertisement of any goods, services or merchandise
of any kind, whether or not any person has in fact been damaged, misled
or deceived thereby, is hereby declared to be an unlawful person and
subject to the punishment prescribed in this chapter.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be applicable
to the owner or publisher of newspapers, magazines, publications or
printed matter in which such advertisement appears, nor to the owner
or operator of any radio or television station which broadcasts such
advertisement, when the owner, publisher or operator has no knowledge
of the intent or purpose of the advertiser, and further provided that
nothing herein contained shall apply to any advertisement which is
subject to the statutes, rules and regulations administered by the
Federal Trade Commission.
[Amended 4-1-2014 by Ord. No. 3279]
The person appointed to the position as Investigator
shall be provided with official credentials indicating his/her position,
and this document shall be carried at all times on his/her person
and shall constitute his/her authority to conduct inquiries, inspections
and investigations into all aspects of sales, attempts to sell, advertising
or merchandising of goods and services within the Township of Nutley.
Any person who violates or fails to comply with
any of the terms of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be
liable to a penalty of a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for
any term not exceeding 90 days, or both. Each sale or offer to sell,
as herein defined, shall constitute a separate offense and, upon conviction,
shall subject the violator to a separate penalty for each offense.
