FTC hits auto warranty robocaller for $2.3M

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If you’ve ever stopped what you were doing to pick up the phone and gotten a recording trying to convince you that your automotive warranty was about to expire, you may be pleased to learn that one operator of two such telemarketing firms has been shut down and ordered to cough up $2.3M in consumer redress following Federal Trade Commission action.


Damian Kohlfeld, whose companies included Voice Foundations LLC and Network Foundations LLC, was accused of making the illegal calls, which “misled consumers into thinking that the callers were affiliated with consumers’ car dealerships or manufacturers, and that their auto warranty was expiring or about to expire.”

Kohlfield is to pay $2.2M, liquidate two investment accounts worth about $130K and sell his Mercedes automobile, with all proceeds going to consumers, all as a result of a settlement agreement with the FTC.

The action follows two similar settlements with similar telemarketers that totaled $655K in consumer redress.

“Fortunately for American consumers, the telemarketers who were responsible for millions of unsolicited and annoying robocalls will never be able to telemarket again,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We’ve also taken away all of their money to provide redress for consumers who were defrauded. This case serves as a clear message: telemarketers who violate the privacy of ordinary Americans will have to pay the price.”