Dish TV Answers

The deal sounded too good to be true, eh? Well, yeah. It all began with that guy who called one night. He wanted to get you to try DirecTV. And then there was all that fine print. The sales person said it was just routine, right?

Even though you had taken the time to sign up for the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call List, you took that call. And then you decided you really wanted that good deal they offered you. So, what happened?

Back in 2003, the FTC started the List to protect consumers from unwanted sales calls. Companies must remove registered consumers from their marketing lists and not call them. But many consumers continue to receive phone calls, and the FTC tracks companies with more than 100 complaints.

Very soon after its beginning, the FTC began tracking consumer complaints against DirecTV. They discovered that DirecTV had violated the List restrictions when its telemarketers called registered consumers. DirecTV ended up paying $5.34 million in penalties for their satellite TV marketing practices.

The 2005 charges qualified as the biggest civil penalty for violation of the Do Not Call List regulations. Because the FTC wants parent companies to be accountable for their affiliates as well, they named the independent companies in the complaint against DirecTV, too. The independent companies, which sold the DirecTV system, were also found to have violated the List rules.

The FTC tracked those consumer complaints, which numbered in the thousands. They received complaints about the sales calls from DirecTV from October 2003 until the day the company agreed to enter settlement negotiations. With the maximum penalty for each call assessed at $11,000, the 485 days of violation accumulated into the multi-million dollar penalty.

In one violation included in the suit, the satellite TV company and five related telemarketing firms used an auto-dialed, pre-recorded sales call for the DirecTV systems. The FTC only allows automated calls as long as the company switches to a person within 2 seconds of the consumer answering the phone. Apparently, this did not occur.

In response, DirecTV claimed that it had severed business ties with the independent agencies that violated the List rules. They updated their affiliates with new procedures on telemarketing their DirecTV systems.

Additionally, the settlement also requires operation of a customer service desk to handle all consumer complaints of the DirecTV systems.

Another fraud settlement …

In another settlement involving fraud, DirecTV paid $5 million to its consumers. And the company voluntarily reimbursed 22 states that had pursued consumer complaints since 2000.

The 22-state task force had tracked consumer complaints against the company’s advertising. These complaints alleged that goods advertised were not delivered. The small print contracts deceived consumers, and other problems occurred with installation and performance.

Consumers also complained about the lack of local reception. The company was required to address the complaints, make appropriate changes and reimburse consumers with the complaints.

What can you, the consumer do?

So what’s the moral of this story for you? As a consumer, you learn about the Do Not Call List. Besides not calling registered numbers, telemarketers cannot call other consumers before 8 am or after 9 pm.

They must give consumers information about the call, such as the sales person’s name, phone number, company name and the company’s business address for consumer contact. Telemarketers must allow display of their caller ID; they cannot block their calls to consumers.

Even if you’re on the List, companies can contact you if you have done business with them in the previous eighteen months or if you have contacted them within the previous three months.

To register your home or cell phone on the National Do Not Call List, call: 888-382-1222 or log on the website: www.donotcall.gov.