Dish Network will have to pay more than $60 million — three times the originally calculated damages — for sales reps who made repeated, unwanted cold calls to thousands of people on the Do Not Call Registry. [More]
do not call registry
Judge Decides Everyone Who Got Illegal Dish Network Telemarketing Calls Should Get More Money
By 5.26.17
Jury Finds Dish Liable For Annoying Telemarketing Calls By Dealer
By 1.20.17
Poor Dish Network. After its dealers engaged in illegal telemarketing years ago, now everyone’s holding it responsible for those calls: first it was federal and state regulators, and now the jury in a class action lawsuit in North Carolina has concluded that the satellite provider’s sales force broke the law. [More]
Feds Shut Down Two Massive Illegal Robocall Operations
By 1.13.17 — Updated: 1.14.17
Fighting robocalls might seem as pointless as chasing a greased pig, but occasionally you’re able to get your slick mitts on a slippery swine and hold on, if only for a moment. Today, the Federal Trade Commission managed to nab a pair of particularly large robocalling pigs, who have allegedly been violating the Do Not Call Registry for at least five years. [More]
“ROBOCOP Act” Would Force Phone Companies To Do Something About Robocalls
By 4.13.16
As we’ve shown before, wireless and landline phone companies can do something to provide customers with free and easy-to-use tools to block unwanted automated calls — they just aren’t doing it, even when hundreds of thousands of consumers explicitly ask them to. A new piece of legislation introduced today hopes to compel the telecom providers to finally make it easier for customers to just say no to robocalls. [More]
Feds Sue To Halt Illegal Solar Panel Telemarketing Operation
By 3.10.16
It’s not against the law to tell people they might be able to save money by slapping some solar panels on their roofs. What is illegal is using millions of unauthorized calls to people on the Do Not Call list to sell those solar panels.
[More]
Home Security Company To Pay $3.4 Million Over Alleged Violation of “Do Not Call” Rules
By 3.12.14
When they say do not call, they mean do not call. One Massachusetts-based home security company didn’t follow those easy instructions and is now facing a hefty fine and slap on the wrist from federal regulators. [More]
Arrest Warrant Issued For “Cash Grant Institute” Scammer Who Failed To Pay $20 Million Penalty
By 2.20.14
Nearly two years after the FTC hit the scammy robocallers at the “Cash Grant Institute” with a record $30 million penalty for violating federal Do Not Call regulations a few million times, a judge has issued an arrest warrant for one of the scheme’s operators after he failed to repay the lion’s share of what he’d agreed to hand over. [More]
Mortgage Broker To Pay Record $7.5M Penalty Over Allegations It Violated “Do Not Call” Rules
By 6.27.13
The Federal Trade Commission is marking the 10-year anniversary of the “Do Not Call” registry by announcing a $7.5 million civil penalty against a mortgage broker that had allegedly targeted U.S. servicemembers. It’s the largest fee the FTC has ever collected related to the Do Not Call provisions Telemarketing Sales Rule, and also serves as warning to companies trying to push deceptive mortgage ads. [More]
Feds Shut Down Telemarketing Scam Aimed At Elderly
By 3.11.13
It’s bad enough to call up an elderly person and mislead him or her into paying a pile of cash for a medical alert service they don’t need or want. But what takes one Brooklyn-based telemarketing scheme to the next level was its alleged tendency to bill consumers thousands of dollars for something they never ordered. [More]
FTC Sues Dish Network Over 'Do Not Call' Violations
By 8.23.12
Even if a consumer isn’t on the National Do Not Call Registry, when they ask a telemarketer to stop calling them, said telemarketer is legally obliged to honor that request. According to a new lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission, the folks at Dish Network (allegedly) ignored this request from millions of annoyed Americans. [More]
FTC Listens To Your Complaints, (Mostly) Bans Telemarketer Robocalls
By 8.20.08
After reviewing the more than 14,000 comments left by living human beings, the FTC yesterday amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule to ban most types of robotic telemarketing calls. By this December, any recorded calls will have to lead off with an automated opt-out option; by September 2009, telemarketers will need prior written permission to contact someone—simply being a recent customer won’t cut it.
