Dish telesales fines could total $24bn
January 25, 2016
By Chris Forrester
Dish Network is potentially in trouble for allegedly violating a cluster of US rules on making unsolicited telemarketing sales calls.
The lawsuit against Dish has been running since 2009 when a group of State attorneys general grouped together to hit the company with charges that it had made some 57 million unwanted telemarketing calls.
The $24 billion potential penalty comes about because a Court can fine a business up to $11,000 per violation (for calls made ahead of February 2009) and subsequently raised to $16,000 per violation on telemarketing calls made after February 2009.
Dish said in a statement January 22nd that it has moved to “improve [its] already compliant procedures” for telemarketing calls since the period in question. Dish has long taken our compliance to the telemarketing laws seriously, has and will continue to maintain rigorous telemarketing compliance policies and procedures, and has topped multiple independent customer service surveys along the way,” the statement added.
A trial opened last week before US District Judge Sue Myerscough in Illinois and is likely to take 4 weeks.