The Federal Communications Commission yesterday filed its first enforcement action under the national no-call list, issuing a warning and promising a fine should the company commit violations again.
The citation against CPM Funding Inc., Irvine, CA, stated that the company would face fines of up to $11,000 per violation if it called consumers on the no-call list following its receipt of the warning. CPM Funding did not dispute that it made the calls nor claim that the calls were exempt in a Dec. 1 letter to the FCC regarding the allegations, the FCC stated in the citation.
A CPM Funding representative did not immediately return a phone message left at his office yesterday.
The FCC is pursuing a monetary penalty of $780,000 under its old company-specific no-call rules against telecom carrier AT&T. AT&T filed a response to the FCC complaint Dec. 17, according to a Reuters report.
Company-specific no-call rules ban telemarketers from calling consumers who have told them specifically not to call anymore. In a 49-page response document, AT&T accused the FCC of besmirching its reputation and filing the charges solely to support a media campaign, according to Reuters.
Earlier this week, the Ohio attorney general's office filed its second lawsuit under the national no-call list. Calls by Better Home Improvements Co., Reynoldsburg, OH, generated 60 complaints to the Federal Trade Commission from consumers who said the company called them despite their registration to the no-call list.
The complaints were related to calls by Better Home Improvements made between Oct. 17 and Dec. 12, and some consumers received multiple calls, the attorney general said.
The state will seek $500 to $1,000 per violation under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It also will ask a court to penalize Better Home Improvements $25,000 and prohibit the company from violating the list in the future.
Ohio announced its first suit under the no-call list earlier this month and is the third state to file such an action.
