NEWARK
— Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
filed suit today against two Union County
companies alleging they repeatedly violated
the State’s Do Not Call Law and
Consumer Fraud Act. The suit alleges,
among other things, that the companies
failed to register with the New
Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
as telemarketers and made unsolicited
telemarketing calls to New Jersey residents
whose telephone numbers were on the federal
Do Not Call registry.
The
complaint, which seeks civil penalties
and restitution, was filed by Attorney
General Harvey and New Jersey Division
of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Kimberly
Ricketts in Union County Superior Court
against Matrix Management & Marketing
Group, L.L.C. (d/b/a Matrix Marketing)
and Total Remodeling, Inc. The case marks
the first time the State has filed suit
under the New Jersey Do Not Call Law and
regulations which took effect last year.
"Our
Do Not Call Law was enacted to provide
New Jersey consumers with strong protections
against unwanted and annoying telemarketing
calls," Acting Governor Richard J.
Codey said. "Gone are the days when
telemarketers could make sales calls whenever
they wanted without any regard for the
people they were calling. This law is
about respecting the wishes of consumers
and holding accountable any company that
ignores those wishes."
"Most
New Jerseyans do not want to be harassed
in their homes by callers selling unwanted
goods and services," said Attorney
General Harvey. "If telemarketers
ignore the Do Not Call Law and phone consumers
who have registered for its protection,
we will investigate and, where appropriate,
file suit to impose penalties against
them."
"The
law is clear, telemarketers can’t
make calls to New Jersey consumers if
they are not registered in New Jersey
to do so, and they certainly can’t
call people who don’t want to receive
their calls," Acting Director Ricketts
said. "Under the New Jersey Do Not
Call Law, we have strong enforcement powers
and, as this case demonstrates, we fully
intend to exercise those powers."
Total Remodeling provides home improvement
services, including home remodeling, window
replacement, siding installment and roof
repair. The company has advertised its
home improvement services to consumers
through various media including telemarketing
and its Web site, www.totalremodeling.com.
Matrix Marketing makes residential telemarketing
calls to New Jersey consumers to encourage
them to purchase home improvement services
from home repair contractors, including
Total Remodeling.
To
date, Consumer Affairs has received approximately
400 consumer complaints against the defendants
stemming from their alleged unlawful telemarketing
calls and Total Remodeling’s home
improvement practices.
The
suit alleges that Matrix Marketing and
Total Remodeling, both of which operate
a principal place of business at 1767
Route 22, Union, violated the Do Not Call
law during the course of selling or offering
home remodeling services to New Jersey
residents. Specifically, the complaint
alleges the defendants:
- made
telemarketing sales calls to New Jersey
residents without being registered with
Consumer Affairs;
- made
unsolicited calls to people registered
on the federal Do Not Call list;
-
made telemarketing calls to consumers
who asked to be removed from their in-house
call list;
-
failed to disclose to consumers, within
the first 30 seconds of telemarketing
calls, the name of the person making
the call, the entity on whose behalf
the call was being made, the name of
the telemarketing entity and the purpose
of the call; and
-
misrepresented to consumers that intra-state
telemarketing calls are not subject
to restrictions under the New Jersey
Do Not Call law.
In
addition, the suit alleges that Total
Remodeling violated New Jersey’s
Consumer Fraud Act and home improvement
regulations by, among other things:
- falsely
informing a consumer that he may rescind
his home improvement contract at any
time before the work was scheduled to
commence, when, in fact, the home improvement
contract only gave the consumer three
days to cancel;
- telling
a consumer that he would receive a discount
on home improvement services, but only
if he signed the home improvement contract
immediately; and
-
failing to provide consumers with refunds
for home improvement work that was never
started and/or completed.
The
State’s suit seeks to have the defendants
pay civil monetary penalties, attorney’s
fees and costs as well as restitution
to affected consumers.
The
case has been handled for the State by
Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Armstrong
of the Division of Law and Investigator
Aziza Salikhov of the Consumer Affairs’
Office of Consumer Protection. Union County
Consumer Affairs Office also assisted
the State in the investigation.
How
Consumers Can Stop Telemarketing Calls:
- Individuals
who want to stop telemarketing calls,
may register their home and/or mobile
phone numbers by calling the Federal
Trade Commission at 1-888-382-1222
or by logging onto www.DoNotCall.gov.
New Jersey’s Do Not Call Law allows
Consumer Affairs to utilize the New
Jersey telephone numbers on the federal
"Do Not Call" registry to
establish a State-specific no telemarketing
call list. That means anyone who has
signed up for the federal registry is
automatically placed on the State’s
list and covered under the law.
- To
register by phone, consumers must call
from the telephone number they want
to register. To register online, consumers
will need an active e-mail address.
If they have more than one telephone
number, they must be sure to register
each one or they may still get calls
on the number that’s not registered.
- The
phone number will remain on the registry
for five years from the date the consumer
registers it (unless he or she takes
the number off the list or the phone
is disconnected.)
- Registration
is free.
- Telemarketers
will have up to three months from the
date the consumer registers to stop
calling him or her.
How
Consumers Can File a Complaint:
Consumers
who have registered their telephone
numbers on the federal registry for
at least three months and are still
receiving telemarketing calls, may contact
Consumer Affairs at 888-NJNOCALL
(888-656-6225) or log onto
www.NJ.gov/DoNotCall
for a complaint form. Consumers
may either file their complaints online
or fill out the complaint form, sign
it and return it to: New Jersey Division
of Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 45025,
Newark, N.J. 07101. Complaints
should include the date of the call,
the name of the telemarketer, the name
of the seller, the telemarketer’s
address and/or the telemarketer’s
telephone number, if available.
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