Missouri No-Call List a happier place as Filanity pays $36,000
, a California company that hawks telephone calling cards, agreed to pay Missouri $36,000 after being accused of soliciting consumers on the state's No-Call List.
Filanity was accused of dialing people around the state, including consumers on the No-Call List, and trying to convince them they could lower their long distance costs by buying the company's calling cards. In addition to paying the penalty to the state, Filanity was ordered to obtain the most recent copy of the No-Call List. Filanity faces a $5,000 penalty per violation if it runs afoul of Missouri's telemarketing laws.
"Missouri's No-Call law is clear, and businesses are understanding that we will stop them if they ignore the law," Attorney General Chris Koster said in a written statement. "The Attorney General's office will continue to aggressively seek telemarketers who ignore our laws and continue to make prohibited calls."
More than 2.7 million Missouri residents are registered with the state's No-Call List, which allows consumers to submit their home telephone to be free from unwanted telemarketers calls. In return, the telemarketers are subject to legal action from the Missouri Attorney General for violations.
Consumers can preempt unwanted telemarketing phone calls by registering for the Federal Trade Commissions' National Do Not Call Registry which accepts home and cell phone numbers. Once registered, telemarketers have 31 days to remove the number from their call list. Political organizations, charities and surveyors are not prohibited from calling consumers on the No-Call List.
