FTC Sues Echostar For Do Not call List violations.

[goaliebob99]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Satellite TV provider Dish Network is being sued by the federal government for alleged violations to the national Do Not Call Registry.
The Federal Trade Commission says the company, formerly known as EchoStar, has made thousands of phone calls to people on the Do Not Call list. Dish Network is the biggest violator, the FTC said, based on the number of complaints the agency has received.
The FTC says Dish Network refused to settle the case, so the government filed suit. It's the first time the agency hasn't been able to get an accused company to settle Do Not Call allegations.
Since the registry began in 2003, the FTC has brought more than 40 cases against companies for Do Not Call violations. The biggest case to date involved satellite television provider DirecTV Inc., which paid a $5.3 million settlement.

 

[Dgenx321]

Does this surprise anyone?

Dish has to be the most sued company in the world...

 

[HDRoberts]

I think DirecTV has had it's own DNC issues.

Who knows if this was Dish or an overzealous 3rd party trying to sell Dish? Dish shouldn't settle if it's not them making the calls.

 

[richiephx]

I'm not defending E* by any means but, it seems to me that this is small change compared to the SEC's complicit involvement in the economic crisis where they did nothing to possibly prevent what occurred with the financial market.

 

[HDRoberts]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...tement-regarding-ftc-do-not-call-lawsuit.html

Dish seems to support my theory. Overzealous retailers doing stuff Dish did not authorize them to do.

 

[tempVAdish]

Could it be that Dish isn't calling to sell something, but because the receivers are reporting either signal loss issues or LNB drift??? That's not telemarketing, it's an attempt at customer service!!!

 

[JEFFinINDY]

Face it.. all giant companies will face lawsuits. The question is, will these phone calls still prove to be money-makers after including the cost of defending the lawsuit and any penalties?

 

[Skyhi]

: and :up to the FTC! I hate tele-marketers.

Somebody (either E* or some independent retailers) will be paying!

 

[Skyhi]

Face it.. all giant companies will face lawsuits. The question is, will these phone calls still prove to be money-makers after including the cost of defending the lawsuit and any penalties?

BINGO!

 

[apollog]

Charlie just doesn't get it, he spends more time in court than running his company. No wonder dish subs suffer.

 

[Sammy033]

Could it be that Dish isn't calling to sell something, but because the receivers are reporting either signal loss issues or LNB drift??? That's not telemarketing, it's an attempt at customer service!!!

Do Not Call lists do not apply if the person has an existing relationship with the party doing the calling... like Dish calling a subscriber. In this case it also doesnt matter what the call is about. Thats how my credit card company can get away will calling me every so often trying to get me to sign up for the same program I keep saying no to. I dont like it but its legal for them to do it.

 

[tempVAdish]

Do Not Call lists do not apply if the person has an existing relationship with the party doing the calling... like Dish calling a subscriber. In this case it also doesnt matter what the call is about. Thats how my credit card company can get away will calling me every so often trying to get me to sign up for the same program I keep saying no to. I dont like it but its legal for them to do it.

Then if this is the case (I do remember that now) maybe the persons being called do not realize this...

 

[Skyhi]

Then if this is the case (I do remember that now) maybe the persons being called do not realize this...

The FTC knows it, though. I'd hope that the FTC did a little investigating of their own before they filed a lawsuit after receiving the complaints.

 

[HDRoberts]

People, read Dish's statement. This is retailers calling non-subscribers trying to get them to sign up. Is it telemaketing? YES. Is it illegal to call those on the do not call list? YES. Was it Dish making the calls? NO.

Sue the retailers, not Dish. Heck, I wonder if this was part of the reason some of the terminated retailers have been let go.

 

[Skyhi]

People, read Dish's statement. This is retailers calling non-subscribers trying to get them to sign up. Is it telemaketing? YES. Is it illegal to call those on the do not call list? YES. Was it Dish making the calls? NO.

Sue the retailers, not Dish. Heck, I wonder if this was part of the reason some of the terminated retailers have been let go.

I wouldn't put too much stock in Dish's presser. Whenever a company is sued, they release a statement denying the complaint.

This isn't to say that the FTC's suit has any merit either....however....Federal Agencies are usually pretty thorough. If I had to guess, I'd say:

1. The FTC has caught dish red handed; OR
2. The FTC believes they can establish an agent/principal relationship between the retailers and dish (although I doubt they can)

 

[HDRoberts]

More likely a retailer calls to sell a Dish system, the people report Dish, not "Uncle Joe's Satellite Shack" who actually made the call. Most likely caller ID was blocked, unavailable, or some fake number.

To me, the fact Dish specifically named retailers make me think this the truth. Had it really been Dish, thy likely would have just said they denied the allegations.

FTC just wants to look like it's taking action, and it probably helps that Dish is the one with deep pockets.

 

[bscott]

While the calls may not have come from Dish Networks corporate offices, if they have come from "authorized" retailers who are empowered as authorized agents of Dish Network, it may have some merit. Though I would think this is very much a gray area. And while Dish may throw the blame at the feet of the retailers, the FTC makes it sound like they have been trying to address this issue for a long time and Dish has failed to either co-operate or address the situation.

Who knows. As the age old saying goes....there's three sides to every story. Your side, my side and somewhere in the middle is the truth.

 

[Skyhi]

While the calls may not have come from Dish Networks corporate offices, if they have come from "authorized" retailers who are empowered as authorized agents of Dish Network, it may have some merit. Though I would think this is very much a gray area. And while Dish may throw the blame at the feet of the retailers, the FTC makes it sound like they have been trying to address this issue for a long time and Dish has failed to either co-operate or address the situation.

Who knows. As the age old saying goes....there's three sides to every story. Your side, my side and somewhere in the middle is the truth.

Very true. If the govt. is able to establish an agency relationship between Dish and the retailers (doubtful IMO), then this could make for a very interesting case.

 

[kvnfl]

It is 3rd party callers, period. Just added a new VOIP number. Within minutes of turning it on telemarkers with blocked and unidentified CID were calling to sell Dish. I would tell one company to add me to their DNC list, hang up the phone and receive another call selling Dish from a different company. It was way over the top telemarketing. After signing the DNC list, I started reporting phone numbers.

 

[Poke]

Yeah I could see other companies being added to the list.