Productive Marketing Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, agreed yesterday to pay $100,000 to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit regarding its auction guide telemarketing business. The FTC lawsuit alleged that the company charged consumers' credit cards without authorization. The suit also charged the company with making false claims. In addition to the payment — which will be used to repay consumers who bought auction guides from Productive Marketing — the company agreed to cease telemarketing and to stop selling auction guides. A telephone number listed for Productive Marketing in Santa Barbara was out of service.
