Talbots settles telemarketing charges with FTC

Women's clothing retailer Talbots Inc. and its telemarketing firm have agreed to pay $161,000 to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it violated the National Do Not Call Registry law last year.

The Hingham, Mass.-based company made at least 3.4 million prerecorded "robocalls" in seven telemarketing campaigns between February 2009 and July 2009, according to the FTC. During the calls, Talbots' marketing company, SmartReply, Inc., forced consumers to listen to 30 to 40 seconds of advertising, before it informed them they had the option to stop receiving automated calls. According to the commission's telemarketing sales rule, a company must tell consumers how to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls before a sales pitch is delivered.