FTC: Dish Network violated Do Not Call rules

The federal government and four states are suing satellite television provider Dish Network for violating laws regarding the national Do Not Call registry.

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said Dish Network has been calling consumers on the Do Not Call list, either directly or through marketing dealers working on its behalf, to promote its services since 2003.

The agency also said the company's "robocalls," or automated messages, are in violation of the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule. The agency's complaint was filed jointly with attorneys general from California, Illinois, Ohio, and North Carolina.

"Because a few bad actors still don't get it, we want to make it crystal-clear," Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "If you call consumers whose numbers are on the Do Not Call registry, you're breaking the law."

The government is seeking a permanent injunction against Dish Network, prohibiting it from violating robocall and Do Not Call restrictions, and requiring that it monitor the marketing dealers it works with to prevent future violations. It is also seeking monetary civil penalties for every Telemarketing Sales Rule violation.

Dish Network said it has not violated the law and should not be held responsible for Do Not Call violations made by other companies.

"An independent audit demonstrates that Dish Network is in compliance with Do Not Call laws, has proper controls in place, and is well within the safe-harbor provisions of the law," the company said in a statement. "We also believe that the FTC is equating merely doing business with an independent retailer to 'causing,' or 'assisting and facilitating,' violations by that retailer, which creates a strict liability standard that does not exist in the law and was not intended by Congress."

The government is also filing complaints against two of the marketing dealers with which Dish works, Vision Quest and New Edge Satellite, for allegedly calling consumers on the Do Not Call list.

The FTC filed similar complaints against two other Dish Network partners in 2008--Planet Earth Satellite and Star Satellite. Those charges were settled, with the companies paying a total of $95,000 in penalties.

[HlLLARY CLITON]

This is no surprise to me, I dumped Dish Network long ago because of all the harassing phone calls I'd get wanting me to upgrade

[man_w_balls]

hell yeah!
they even called me on my cell phone once, but they got an earful and haven't called back since.

[Toulinwoek]

Get 'em! Hit 'em HARD in the pocket. There is a REASON for the DNC list and they should not be permitted to weasel out of it with that lame excuse about doing business with independent retailers. The fact is, they stand to benefit, and for that reason it should constitute a violation on their part. If they have such "proper controls" in place, then they wouldn't be in this pickle.
I say make an example of them.

[Throgged]

screw the dish, how about going after those friggin "Car Warranty is about to expire" calls. Wanna talk about annoying?

[mmntech]

I get them all the time from spoofed numbers that originate in the US. Even the telemarketers are outsourcing labour now to get around the Do Not Call List here in Canada.

[sharmajunior]

LOL........"Dish Network should not be held reponsible for calls made by other companies". Who gave the other companies permission to make calls? Its not like they are getting free advertisement. No company in the world gets up and says, Let's help out another company by providing them with free advertisement on their behalf.

This is so funny and I would love to see them say this is court. I bet the Judge would be laughing as well.

I have always wanted to do what Seinfeld did in an episode where he got a call from a telemarketer.

TM(telemarketer:" Hello Sir, would you be interested in ..." gets cut off by Seinfelf.

SF(Seinfeld): "Uhh, I am kinda busy right now. Why don't you give me your home phone number and I'll call you when I have the time."

TM: "Uhh...Sorry Sir,, We are not allowed to do that."

SF: "I guess you don't want people calling you at home?"

TM: "No!"

SF: "Well now you know how I feel. CLICK"....

I wish I could do this someday.

[Magallanes]

Lol

i remember this episode.

[Magallanes]

"The FTC filed similar complaints against two other Dish Network partners in 2008--Planet Earth Satellite and Star Satellite. Those charges were settled, with the companies paying a total of $95,000 in penalties. "

LOL, $95k is nothing.

[Dalkorian]

It's what the industry calls "the cost of doing business". It's not nothing, it's a slap on the wrist of the violator and a slap in the face of the victim.

[Toulinwoek]

I don't know. You figure that the average customer is paying what, around $40 a month? That'd be like giving a hundred customers FREE service for almost 2 years. Planet Earth Satellite and Star Satellite would probably only be getting a small chunk of that $40, so I think it hit home. Of course, I think the fines should be more also, but still, that ain't pennies.

[aka_tripleB]

They need to go after Education Connection next. Not only do they call multiple times a day; it's done completely unsolicited...even after you tell them to stop. And if you stop picking up, they spoof their caller ID. Does anyone know the number to call to report this?

[dadsgravy]

"Dish Network said it has not violated the law and should not be held responsible for Do Not Call violations made by other companies."

Yeah well, Charles Mason never killed anyone and look where he's at.

[idfubar]

Clearly there is something to be said for doing business responsibly (i.e. choosing your business partners responsibly).

[DishNetworkSanJose]

Dish Network has been pulling all the tricks in trying to keep customers' service by doing:

1. When you terminate the service, they want part of the dish which usually is on the roof top returned. DirecTV does not require any parts of the dish returned. Who would want to go buy a 20' ladder to terminate a TV contract? Go figure.

2. Requires you to have the telephone line connected to every receiver.

3. Requires you to make an upfront payment.

4. Requires you to give out your credit card in order to get an account

5. Worse of all, I had the DishNetwork technician used my credit card to order movies, and it took me a month for Blockbuster to release the movie account.

6. Their one receiver for two TVs usually does not work very well. If you have the receiver on the first floor and the second TV on the second floor the remote will not reach down to the receiver on the first floor.

7. They give you a hard time to terminate your contract. You have to know exactly your last two payments and methods of the last two payments made to them. Who would remember those things?

Do not use Dish Network service, Americans !!!

[splitlipservice]

I would sign up to sue these floating turds. I've never had the service. They call just about every day. They often don't talk when I answer. Occasionally they will talk. I tell them to put us on the do not call list. They seem polite and say Ok. Then they call tomorrow. I've called the number only to get a one option menu - press one to be put on the do not call list.

Today I talked to David. I asked his last name. He said it is Rooster. He asked my first and last name. I replied first name is none, last name is of his business. He thought that was clever. Then he wouldn't let me finish a sentence. He always interrupted me to ask if I wanted to be put on the list. I got very upset. If I knew where he was I'd have a very percussive face to face conversation with him. And every other one of these wasted subhuman air suckers.

[splitlipservice]

DISH TV personnel are bags of fecal matter.