Primus Telecommunications Inc. agreed to pay $400,000 to settle a civil complaint that it violated the national no-call list, the Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday. The deal represents the first cash settlement of a national no-call case.
The company also agreed to enact a program to ensure future no-call compliance.
According to the FCC, Primus, McLean, VA, hired teleservices agency Spanco Telesystems & Solutions to conduct its outbound calling campaigns, from which it derives 40 percent of its sales. The FCC sent a letter to Primus on Dec. 17, 2003, as part of an investigation into complaints alleging calls by Primus to consumers who registered for the no-call list.
In response, Primus said that, prior to the no-call list's launch in October 2003, it had implemented systems for suppressing calls to people registered for the list, according to the FCC. The company submitted descriptions of its internal systems and procedures for implementing the no-call list, and it established it had properly paid for list access.
Primus also said it told Spanco, whose U.S. sales office is in South Plainfield, NJ, to cease telemarketing on its behalf as soon as it received the FCC letter. Primus admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
