Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed lawsuits in federal court in St. Louis against MCI, AT&T and Southwestern Bell. The suits accuse the firms of violating the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act by continuing to make telemarketing calls to Missouri consumers who have asked them to stop.
“The telephone companies and their lobbyists have been quite skillful in carving out and keeping their loophole in the state no-call law,” Nixon said in a statement. “That does not mean, however, that they can flout federal telemarketing rules. “
The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires all telemarketers to refrain from calling back consumers within a one-year period after the consumers have asked them not to call, and to place those phone numbers on a do-not-call list. Nixon said Missouri consumers had complained to his office after they received calls from the telephone companies after asking them not to call, the statement continued.
“When my office asked MCI, AT&T and Southwestern Bell for copies of the do-not-call lists they are required to keep, the phone companies went to court in Cole County to block our efforts,” Nixon said.
According to wire service reports, SBC would not comment on the lawsuit but issued a statement on saying that it complies with “applicable federal do not call rules and go to great lengths to protect our customers’ wishes when it comes to telemarketing our products and services.”
Representatives for AT&T, and WorldCom said they have not yet seen the lawsuit.
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