| Marketing outfit made 46 million illegal calls
A CALIFORNIAN telemarketing company which used automated gear to annoy the world with pre-recorded telemarketing pitches has been fined $180,000 for its antics. The Federal Trade Commission that Voice-Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) made 46 million illegal calls using the equipment. The FTC wanted to fine the company a million dollars but worked out that VMBC and its owner Jesse Crowe had no way to pay such a steep fine. The calls were flogging debt-consolidation and mortgage brokerage services and other retail and financial services. According to Network World, the equipment was supposed to leave messages on answerphones and it hung up if it got a human. This is illegal, as the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rules say that calls should be connected to a human sales representative within two seconds.
FTC fines telemarketer $180,000
A California telemarketing firm has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to settle charges that it made 46 million illegal calls, a government agency said Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department said in a complaint that Voice Mail Broadcasting Corp. and its owner, Jesse Crowe, violated federal telemarketing rules by making 46 million automated calls since October 2003. The prerecorded calls pitched debt consolidation, mortgage services and other financial products, the agency said. When consumers answered, the calls were either terminated or the prerecorded message played. The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule requires that calls answered by individuals be connected to a live sales representative within two seconds. Under the settlement, Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Voice Mail Broadcasting and Crowe were fined $3 million, the FTC said in a release.
Compliance Tips for Internal Audits in Outbound Telemarketing Services
With the existing telemarketing service environment being what it is, every company that makes outbound calls should be compliant with state and federal telemarketing laws. Consumers who look unfavorably upon telemarketing service provider calls may trigger requests from State Attorney Generals, The Federal Trade Commission, or The Federal Communications Commission regarding the activities of your company and the outbound telemarketing service strategies being utilized. The request can be a Federal Civil Investigation Demand from the government or a simple one number request from a State Bureau of Consumer Protection Administrative Office. The Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry has been accepting registration from consumers since June of 2003. The registry, as of December 4, 2007, had over 151 million telephone numbers listed on it. Because of this, telemarketing services companies have to be aware that some consumers are sensitive to any type of sales call or any call in general that they perceive to be a sales call. The government has done a good job of explaining to consumers that the Federal Do Not Call Registry will stop some but not all calls.
FTC charges payment company in $200M fraud
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed charges against a payment processing company, accusing it of attempting to debit consumers' bank accounts for up to $200 million on behalf of dishonest merchants. Those consumers either never received the goods or received worthless items, said the FTC, which filed the complaint with seven other U.S. states. The payment company allegedly violated both federal and state consumer fraud laws, telemarketing rules and FTC regulations regarding the unfair processing of payments. The payment processing company went by several names, which are listed in a FTC news release. The FTC alleges the company processed payments for fraudulent telemarketers and Internet-based merchants that used deceptive sales scripts and methods. About $69 million of the $200 million in transactions were either rejected by consumers or returned because of lack of proper payment authorization, the FTC said.
CallUp Introduces SMS, VMS, UMS Messaging Services at VAS India
Tel Aviv ----July 9. CallUp Net, a leader in creating messaging software and solutions for international telecommunications operators and providers, is one of the key sponsors of VAS India. "CallUp is pleased to announce that we are co-sponsoring VAS India 2005, an international conference organized by Bharat Exhibitions on 8th July 2005 at Le Meridien, New Delhi, India," said David Eshet, CEO of CallUp. "VAS India 2005 international conference will discuss various value-added telecom services (VAS) and solutions in India, such as call centers, telemarketing, customer relationship management (CRM), interactive voice response (IVR), VoIP, SMS, MMS, mobile applications, and sales and distribution of telecom products and services," Eshet said. Over 54 million people in India now own mobile phones, and significant opportunities for content providers are available in this nascent market.
ESPN Anchor Goes On Vulgar Anti-Jesus Rant at Celebrity Roast
In the past few decades, as political correctness has taken hold of virtually every industry, folks involved in sports and sportscasting that have made racist or sexist remarks on camera have typically been fired or forced to make public apologies. Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder's termination by CBS back in 1988 is a fine example, with the recent two-week suspension of Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman being another. Yet, given what happened on an Atlantic City dais on January 11, where a high-profile ESPN anchor went on an alcohol-induced tirade which included a vulgar reference to Jesus Christ, it appears public antitheism is not politically incorrect. After all, until this moment, you probably hadn't heard about this incident, and the person involved apparently has not been publicly admonished for her behavior by her employer.
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