The recorded phone calls sound so urgent - Your car warranty is about to expire. You have "a final opportunity to extend coverage before it is too late. Press 1 now to speak to a warranty specialist."
The problem, according to the Federal Trade Commission, is that these pre-recorded calls, which were received by tens of millions of consumers, were deceptive and illegal, violating the National Do Not Call Registry and Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Today the agency announced a $655,000 settlement with the company, Voice Touch, Inc., and its principal, James Dunne. The company is permanently banned from telemarketing, and Dunne also has to turn over the proceeds from selling his second home in Florida, his Porshe 911, and his Lexus sedan.
He must also cooperate with the FTC in its ongoing case against the remaining defendants -- Network Foundations; Voice Foundations; and one of their principals, Damian Kohlfeld.
Still, it’s a relative bargain considering Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Voice Touch and Dunne could have been on the hook for $48 million – the total amount of consumer injury caused by the activities alleged in the complaint.
According to the FTC, Voice Touch, Inc. and Dunne “acted as brokers between telemarketers and the dialing companies that actually made the pre-recorded robocalls. They conducted telemarketing campaigns on behalf of several companies, causing tens of millions of consumers to receive illegal pre-recorded pitches that misled consumers to think that the callers were affiliated with consumers’ car dealership or manufacturer, and that their auto warranty was expiring or about to expire.”
The case was filed by the FTC in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of lllinois in May 2009. FTC lawyers Rozina Bhimani, David O’Toole and James Davis worked on the matter.
Voice Touch and Dunne were represented by Robert Andalman, a partner at Loeb & Loeb in Chicago. He could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a related case, the FTC in September 2009 announced a settlement with Transcontinental Warranty, Inc., a telemarketing company charged with deceptively selling the warranties.
I don't think that the settlement is enough. I would receive up to 20 calls a day. What's ironic is that I don't own a car.
Posted by: Nedra Johnson | March 26, 2010 at 11:13 AM