Quick Answer: The Utah telemarketing warning is legitimate – the state requires all telemarketers (including debt relief companies) to register and maintain a $25,000 bond under the Telephone Fraud Prevention Act. Companies can verify registration status through the state’s official database before conducting business with Utah residents.
A couple of telemarketing stories to report today.
Telemarketing in Utah
I was having a chat with the State of Utah today and they wanted to share important news with any debt relief company that does business over the phone with residents in Utah. Apparently telemarketers talking to Utah residents need to file to become a registered telemarketer.
You can check to see if companies are registered as telemarketers in Utah by clicking here.
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This rule applies to both non-profit and for-profit companies. You can read more about the Telephone Fraud Prevention Act, Utah Code Ann. §13-26
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The Utah Telephone Fraud Protection Act protects consumers from unscrupulous telemarketers and telemarketing scams and, at the same time, protects legitimate telemarketing businesses. The law requires telemarketers doing business in Utah to obtain a minimum of $25,000 bond, certificate of deposit, or letter of credit to help pay restitution for victims if telephone fraud occurs. The statute also provides enforcement powers to the division.
So, consider yourself warned. The message from Utah kind of felt like a heads up on some potential action.
Telemarketer Gets Big Jail Time
In just another story that is telemarketing related, former telemarketers selling auto warranties were sentenced. Christopher Cowart and Cris Sagnelli (aka Chris Sage) were both charged with a felony for telemarketing activities for Transcontinental Warranty. – Source
The pair was sentenced to $15,000 apiece and the court ordered them to spend five years on post-prison supervised release.
If you have some time to kill, you can read the government’s sentencing memorandum here.
Before You Sign Anything: Run any debt relief contract through the free Contract Decoder to spot hidden fees and unfair terms. Check the company’s complaint history with the Scam-O-Meter.
Compare Your Real Options: Most debt relief companies won’t tell you about all your options — especially the ones they can’t profit from. Credit counseling has a 21-27% completion rate. Settlement resolves about 1% of enrolled debts fully. Bankruptcy has a 95% discharge rate — and protects your retirement. Take the Find Your Path quiz for a recommendation based on your actual numbers.
It’s a flawed system….the costs of the bonds are just way to expensive.
Here are another 2 for quick reference
The Kansas No-Call Act Solicitor Information
http://www.ksag.org/files/shared/No.Call.Solicitor.Info.pdf
What is the difference between the Telephonic Sales law and the Florida Telemarketing Act? http://www.800helpfla.com/telemkt.html