A Dallas business has agreed to pay $85,000 in consumer redress to settle alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
According to the FTC, the defendant — Brent Chivers, doing business as Credit Card Services and Destyni Enterprises — telemarketed advance fee credit cards to consumers throughout the nation from a boiler room in Dallas. The defendants allegedly told consumers that for a $79 up-front fee, they would receive a Visa or MasterCard.
In many instances, the FTC alleged, consumers received nothing from the company after paying the fee, or they received bank credit card applications that included additional fees or only offered secured credit cards. When consumers requested a refund, the defendant either ignored the request or informed the consumers they must meet specific criteria not previously disclosed.
The settlement required Chivers to pay $85,000 in consumer redress and contains a suspended judgment of $250,000, which will be reinstated if it is found that Chivers lied on his financial statement.
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