DIRECTV, Comcast to Pay Total of $3.21 Million for Do Not Call Violations

DIRECTV and Comcast have agreed to pay a total of $3.21 million to settle separate Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the Do Not Call provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), including charges that they or their telemarketers called consumers who specifically had told the companies not to call them again. In addition, a DIRECTV telemarketer and its principals have agreed to pay a $115,000 penalty for making prerecorded sales calls to consumers who had asked not to be called. Under the proposed settlements, DIRECTV has agreed to pay $2.31 million to settle the FTC's charges that it violated the TSR's Do Not Call provisions and, as a result, violated a 2005 court order barring it from such conduct. Comcast has agreed to pay $900,000 to settle the FTC's claims that it violated the entity-specific Do Not Call provisions of the TSR. All the defendants also would be prohibited from future violations of the TSR and the Do Not Call Rule. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the actions on behalf of the FTC.