Firms settle Do Not Call allegations

Have you received calls from telemarketers -- which, of course, usually come at dinner time -- even though you were on the Do Not Call registry?

The Federal Trade Commission called some of these alleged violators back, and it will cost them a lot more than an evening meal.

The agency said Wednesday that several companies, including such nationally known names as Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and ADT Security Services Inc., have agreed to pay a total of nearly $8 million to settle charges that they made unsolicited calls to numbers on the registry.

The companies did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Since the registry was established in 2003, consumers have put more than 145 million phone numbers on the list to block calls from telemarketers.

Ameriquest Mortgage, which was one of the nation’s largest sub-prime mortgage lenders before that sector crashed, agreed to pay a $1-million civil penalty. The company, based in Orange, hasn’t accepted loan applications since August, and in September the assets of its loan servicing arm were acquired by Citigroup Inc.

The FTC agreement “brings this matter to a final conclusion as we continue the orderly wind down of Ameriquest’s operations,” Ameriquest said in a statement.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based ADT Security Services, which sells residential and business alarm systems nationwide, will pay $2 million.

An ADT spokeswoman, Ann Lindstrom, issued a statement saying the calls that drew FTC objections ran afoul of a rule that disallows solicitations to registry numbers more than 90 days after a consumer expresses interest in a product.

Lindstrom blamed a software problem for not taking numbers off call lists in a timely fashion.

Also settling with the FTC on Wednesday was Craftmatic Industries Inc., a company that makes adjustable beds. It was charged with running sweepstakes that required a phone number from entrants.

“Using this information, Craftmatic allegedly placed tens of thousands of calls to consumers who entered the sweepstakes even though the form did not indicate that by filling it out they would receive sales calls,” the commission said in a news release.

The bed company agreed to pay a $4.4-million civil penalty, the second-largest in a Do Not Call violations case. The largest settlement, $5.3 million, was with DirecTV in 2005.

An attorney for Craftmatic, Lewis Rose in Washington, said the company had no comment on its settlement agreement.

Other companies that reached settlements announced Wednesday were Guardian Communications, which agreed to pay $150,000; Direct Security Services, which settled for $25,000; and Alarm King, which is on the hook for $20,000.

The commission said it would pursue charges against Newport Beach-based Global Mortgage Funding in U.S. District Court.

The commission has filed 34 cases since the registry was established.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Making the list

Here’s some basic information on the Do Not Call list:

Registration: Go to www.donotcall.gov or call (888) 382-1222.

How long before it takes effect? 31 days.

What is banned? Unsolicited sales calls from companies with which you have no business relationship.

Can I get companies with which I do have a relationship to stop calling? Yes, just by asking them to do so.

What is not banned? Political and telephone survey calls.

How about charities? Allowed, but if a third-party telemarketer is making the call for the charity, you can demand it no longer call your number for that cause.

Can cellphones be registered? Yes

How about business phones? The registry is only for personal numbers.

How long does registration last? Originally, it was good for five years before it had to be renewed. But last month the FTC announced numbers would not expire, pending congressional or agency actions that might make registration permanent.

Source: Federal Trade Commission