The
lawsuits, against San Diego based Intelligent Alternatives and
Resort Marketing Trends of Coral Springs, Florida, are believed to
be the first of their kind by a US wireless provider against
telemarketing firms.
The suits separately accuse the firms of making hundreds of
thousands of calls to mobile phone customers using pre-recorded
messages and auto-diallers in violation of the federal Telephone
Consumer Protection Act and state laws.
According to Verizon Wireless, Federal Communications Commission
regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated diallers to
call cell phone numbers. Automated diallers are standard in the
industry; so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers
on their cell phones without their consent.
Verizon Wireless is seeking damages and injunctions against the
continued use of the illegal telemarketing practices.
Steven Zipperstein, General Counsel at Verizon Wireless, said:
“These lawsuits serve notice once again to any company,
organisation or individual who seeks to infringe on our customers’
privacy: the law says you can’t do it, and we will help defend our
customers against these sorts of illegal practices.”
In August 2004, the company won a permanent injunction against a
group that was spamming Verizon Wireless customers with unsolicited
text messages. The company also broke with the US wireless industry
in June 2004 by becoming the first to announce it would protect
customer privacy by refusing to participate in a national wireless
phone directory.
“Wireless users view cell phones as one of their last refuges
from telemarketing intrusion and other unwanted, unsolicited calls
and messages,” said Mr Zipperstein. “We will vigorously defend the
strong wall of customer privacy that we have fortified over the
years through our aggressive pro-consumer policies and
actions.”
In the US, consumers who do not want to be called by
telemarketers can add their fixed or mobile phone numbers to the
national "Do Not Call" registry. Business-to-business calls are not
covered by the registry.
In the UK, however, both consumers and businesses can reduce the
volume of cold calls they receive by registering with the Telephone
Preference Service (TPS). Registration is free and can be done via
the link below.
Direct marketing firms have a legal obligation to check and
comply with the TPS before calling and failure to do so can result
in enforcement action by the Information Commissioner.
