Attorney General Salazar Reports On First Year Of No-Call Enforcement

Denver--Attorney General Ken Salazar today released information on the first year of Colorado’s No-Call enforcement. The official No-Call List contains more than 1.1 million consumer telephone and fax numbers.

“Colorado consumers have made their voices heard through overwhelming registration of their home and fax numbers, and by filing complaints when the law is ignored," said Attorney General Salazar. "The No-Call Law and our aggressive enforcement efforts have dramatically decreased the number of unwanted calls being made to Colorado consumers,” Salazar said. The Attorney General warned that the key to continued enforcement is residents continuing to report the calls. "We cannot take action against offending telemarketers unless citizens report the calls," said Salazar.

First Year of Enforcement

Since the No-Call Law became effective on July 1, 2002, the Attorney General has:

• Issued 214 No-Call Cease and Desist Notices to commercial telemarketers.
• Obtained eight Assurances of Discontinuance with penalties totaling $37,500. The Assurances resolve, without litigation, allegations of continuing violations of the No-Call Law after the companies have agreed to comply with the law.
• Filed two lawsuits against telemarketers for continuing violations of the No-Call Law after voluntary compliance failed.

No-Call Complaint Activity

Since last July, 21,635 no-call complaints have been filed by consumers statewide. The daily average has decreased from 206 complaints per day in the first month of the program, to 35 per day in June 2003 (see attached graph).

The top ten categories of products and services giving rise to no-call complaints have been consistent throughout the first year of the program:

1.Mortgage Companies/Consumer Loans

2.Telephone/Cell Phone Services

3.Travel/Timeshares

4.Credit Card/Credit Card Protection

5.Home Improvement/Repair

6.Securities/Investments

7.Insurance

8.Magazines/Publications

9.Bank Services

10.Work At Home business opportunities

The Attorney General’s Office is responsible for enforcement of the Colorado No-Call Law when a pattern of violations occurs. Of the 214 Cease and Desist Notices issued by the Attorney General’s Office, 142 of these were issued to out-of state companies and 72 were issued to Colorado businesses. The majority of the businesses immediately stopped violating the No-Call Law.

Eight businesses that did not respond to the Cease and Desist Notices, or continued to violate the No-Call Law after receiving such notices, entered into Assurances of Discontinuance agreements with the Attorney General’s Office. Under the terms of these settlement agreements, the eight businesses agreed to comply with the terms of the No-Call Law and to pay fines for their previous violations of the law as well as the attorney fees and costs incurred by the Attorney General’s Office. These fines, attorney fees and costs totaled $37,500.

Telemarketing companies that violate the Colorado No-Call Law are also subject to civil lawsuits under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. In June, the Attorney General’s Office filed two civil lawsuits against companies for repeated violations of the No-Call Law. Penalties up to $2,000 per violation, or $10,000 if the consumer is sixty or older, along with mandatory attorney fees and costs may be imposed by the court.

Under the Colorado No-Call Law, a state enforcement action may be brought against commercial telemarketers for three or more violations in a month. Consumers may, however, bring private lawsuits in small claims court for a single violation of the law. Consumers may recover a minimum of $500 per violation.

The next official list will be effective August 1. As a result of recent legislation expanding the No-Call Law, consumers may now register wireless numbers on the Colorado No-Call List. The No-Call List effective in August will include wireless numbers added to the registry.

Businesses are reminded to update their calling lists in July to avoid future violations. Consumers may enroll their home phone, wireless or fax numbers on the No-Call List by calling toll free 1-888-249-9097 or on-line atwww.ColoradoNoCall.com.Consumers may file complaints about possible violations of the No-Call Law by either calling toll free 1-888-600-5688 or by going on-line at www.ColoradoNoCall.com.

Attorney General Salazar reminds consumers that if they have registered their telephone numbers on the Colorado No-Call List, the numbers will be automatically included in the new federal no-call registry. The federal no-call law is particularly helpful for the many states without no-call laws.