Court Halts Private No-Call Web Sites
A federal court has ordered a California man to cease offering consumers registration to the national no-call list for a fee via two Web sites and a toll-free hotline, the Federal Trade Commission said yesterday.The U.S. district court in Oakland, CA, issued a permanent injunction against Ken Chase, accused by the FTC of running the fee-for-registration operation. It also required him to show proof that he had issued refunds totaling nearly $3,800 to 254 consumers who paid for registration.
According to the FTC, Chase operated the Web sites FreeDoNotCallList.org, which offered to pre-register consumers for the national DNC when it became available. Those who responded were directed to the "active" registry at DoNotCallList.us, which offered to stop telemarketing calls, unsolicited faxes and mail for $9.99 to $17.99 per year.
The FTC offers registration to the national DNC list for free at DoNotCall.gov and via its own toll-free number. It prohibits private companies from registering consumers.
