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DirecTV Fined $5 Million for Do-Not-Call Violations

Settlement Comes One Day After A $5 Million Settlement of State Charges

December 13, 2005

DirecTV • Billing Problems • Installation • Maintenance • Rebates • Sales Practices • Billing for "Adult" Shows • About those "Adult" Bills ... --- News • DirecTV Takes Disputed Fees Out of Customer Accounts, Suit Charges • Major League Baseball, Cable Operators Reach Agreement • Major League Baseball Extends TV Deadline • Senators Object to DirecTV Deal that Shuts Out Baseball Fans • DirecTV Settles Do Not Call Charges • DirecTV Telemarketers To Pay $75,000 Penalty • Fired DirecTV Contractors Say They Refused To Lie To Customers • Outbreak of DirecTV Porn Charges Hits Philadelphia • DirecTV Fined $5 Million for Do-Not-Call Violations • DirecTV Will Reform Ad Practices, Pay Millions in Refunds • DirecTV Abandons Satellite Internet Plans

It's turning into a bad week for DirecTV. Yesterday the satellite broadcaster agreed to pay $5 million to settle a 22-state investigation of its marketing practices and today, the Federal Trade Commission fined the company $5.35 million for violating the national do-not-call registry.

It's the agency's biggest fine to date over telemarketing.

"This multimillion dollar penalty drives home a simple point: Sellers are on the hook for calls placed on their behalf," said Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. "The Do Not Call Rule applies to all players in the marketing chain, including retailers and their telemarketers."

The FTC's complaint, filed in Federal District Court in Los Angeles, named DirecTV and five telemarketing firms. It alleges that the telemarketers contacted consumers on the National Do-Not-Call registry.

In addition, the complaint alleges that one of the telemarketers – Global Satellite, directly or through another entity – abandoned calls to consumers by failing to put a live sales representative on the line within two seconds after the called consumer completes his or her greeting, as required under the law.

Finally, the complaint alleges that DirecTV provided substantial assistance and support to Global Satellite, even though it knew or consciously avoided knowing, that Global Satellite was violating the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule.

The court order requires DirecTV to pay $5,355,000 in civil penalties. It also prohibits the company from violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule in the future.

The proposed settlement also requires DirecTV to terminate any marketer of its products who the company knows or should know is making cold calls to consumers without express, written authorization from DirecTV.

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