Talk Too Me LLC agreed to refund 600 small businesses it charged for telemarketing calls that were sent collect, the Texas attorney general's office said yesterday.
In addition, Talk Too Me, Sarasota, FL, agreed to pay $6,000 in civil penalties and attorneys fees. The company also agreed to cease placing collect calls for companies for the purpose of telemarketing in Texas and to numerous mandatory disclosures.
Talk Too Me charged the businesses $28.84 for a three-minute call, according to the Texas attorney general's office. It did not stipulate on whose behalf the calls were made.
However, Talk Too Me settled similar charges May 17 with the North Carolina attorney general's office. In that case, Talk Too Me faced accusations that it placed collect calls on behalf of American Directory Services Inc. from a telephone number in Las Cruces, NM.
Talk Too Me agreed to pay 319 North Carolina businesses refunds totaling $9,000 to settle that case. The businesses reported that they had not agreed to the charges and received collection notices when they failed to pay bills for the calls sent by Talk Too Me, the North Carolina attorney general's office said.
