Allstate Insurance Co. and its telemarketing service agency, Telemarketing Results Inc., agreed yesterday to pay $23,000 to settle a no-call list violation complaint, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office said.
Consumers filed about 60 no-call complaints in response to calls made by agents from Telemarketing Results, Mound, MN, on behalf of Allstate, Northbrook, IL, to promote and sell insurance policies and services, the attorney general's office said. The calls were made between December 2002 and June 2003, the office said.
Though the service agency made most of the calls, calls also were made by Allstate agents inside Pennsylvania, the office said. The service agency had purchased the state no-call list but failed to use it properly, and the Allstate agents also had access to the list, according to the attorney general.
Consumers further complained that the callers failed to identify themselves or the company on whose behalf they were calling properly, the attorney general's office said.
In addition to a monetary payment, the companies agreed to avoid such violations of telemarketing regulations in the future.
Allstate's share of the payment was $10,000, including $2,000 for state investigation costs, while Telemarketing Results paid $12,000 in civil fines and $1,000 for investigation costs.
