International Law

How Much is 46 million Unlawful Prerecorded Calls Worth

FTC Settles Charges Against Telemarketer that Made More Than 46 million Unlawful Prerecorded Calls: "Agrees to Stop Improper Use of Prerecorded Messages and to Pay $180,000 Civil Penalty"

"The Federal Trade Commission today announced a complaint and proposed consent decree settling charges that a California-based “voice broadcaster” made over 46 million unlawful telemarketing calls. The proposed court order permanently bars the defendants from violating the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and requires them to pay $180,000 in civil penalties.

According to the complaint filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), since October 1, 2003, Voice-Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) and its owner, Jesse Crowe, have used automated dialers to “blast” consumers with prerecorded telemarketing pitches. The calls pitched products from debt-consolidation services to mortgage brokerage services and other retail and financial services. When VMBC’s telemarketing calls were answered by consumers rather than answering machines or voicemail systems, VMBC either immediately hung up, leaving consumers with “dead air,” or played a prerecorded message. Such calls violate the TSR, which limits telemarketers’ use of prerecorded messages by requiring that calls answered by a person be connected to a sales representative within two seconds. The FTC’s complaint alleges that VMBC, under the direction of its owner, made more than 46 million calls that violated the TSR."

(Via Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Text of Press Releases.)

Think that the FTC will buy some answering machines for these consumers instead of forcing them to identify their own weak will - and registering their name and number of the Do Not Call I am Too Stupid To Stop Myself List?

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on January 29, 2008 (boomark / email).