Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Marketers agree to refrain from selling debt relief services, telemarketing under FTC settlement, (Aug 1, 2013)

The FTC announced today that it has settled an action filed last year against telemarketer Jeremy R. Nelson and four companies that he controlled for allegedly defrauding consumers with false promises of debt relief and charging them without their consent. Under the terms of a proposed consent decree, Nelson is banned from selling debt relief services, telemarketing, and making robocalls (FTC v. Nelson Gamble & Associates LLC, FTC File Nos. 122 3030 and X120048, Case No. SACV12-1504 JST (JPRx)).

According to the FTC’s allegations, the defendants contacted consumers through prerecorded telemarketing “robocalls;” falsely claimed they would reduce their unsecured debt by 50 percent or more; made unauthorized charges to their bank accounts; and called phone numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry. The defendants claimed to be lawyers, the agency alleged. The agency contended that the defendants settled few, if any, debts for customers, and some consumers who did not order their services found that the defendants had debited money from their bank accounts.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews