A Florida debt-repair firm that's been sued by several states is now taking its telemarketing message to New Hampshire.
Consumer advocates are warning state residents not to fall for the phony sales pitch.
NHPR correspondent Brian McWilliams reports.
["Hi, this is Bruce Campbell calling with SDS. You may recall receiving a letter saying that you have been approved to consolidate your credit cards together down to as low as 1.5 percent interest ..." 9 sec]
That's the start of a pre-recorded message that's been showing up on answering machines and voice mail systems around New Hampshire.
The calls COME from a telemarketing company in Florida called Simplified Data Solutions.
SDS says it's working on behalf of Lighthouse Credit Foundation, to help consumers get out of debt.
Regulators say the calls violate a federal law that prohibits unsolicited, canned commercial telephone messages.
But consumer advocates warn that SDS's automated sales pitch could be especially dangerous to New Hampshire residents with financial problems.
Josh Irwin is director of the New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group.
"It targets people who are already in dire straights and desperate to get out of debt. It tells them exactly what they want to hear. But then, probably what's happening with these people is that they're getting further in debt." 13.5 sec]
Indeed, Massachusetts OFFICIALS claim A FLORIDA COMPANY CLOSELY CONNECTED TO SDS HAS DEFRAUDED 3,000 BAY STATE residents out of over 1 million dollars.
Last December, the Commonwealth sued "Integrated Credit Solutions" or ICS for making over a million fraudulent calls to Massachusetts residents.
The calls followed a script almost identical to that of SDS.
And State of Florida records show that ICS, SDS, and Lighthouse Credit all share the same street address in Largo.
Chris Barry-Smith is an assistant attorney general for Massachusetts.
["They claim that all consumers will save thousands of dollars in interest and will pay off their debt in as little as a third of the time. We think that message is deceptive because they do not disclose and fold into the calculation the various fees that are paid in order to get that credit counseling." 23 sec.]
In fact, ICS charges up to 500 dollars in up-front fees, according to Massachusetts investigators.
And on top of that, 35 dollars each month.
All simply for collecting payments from the consumer and distributing them to creditors.
In its lawsuit, the Commonwealth asks a court to force ICS to give consumers their money back.
Flagship Capital, also of Largo, Florida, appears to be the parent company of Lighthouse, ICS, and SDS.
Flagship is named as a co-defendant in the Massachusetts suit.
Company officials did not respond to interview requests.
So far, the Florida telemarketers haven't made a big blip on the radars of New Hampshire's consumer protection watchdogs.
The state attorney general's office says it has received just a handful of complaints about SDS and ICS.
But the Florida credit-repair scam comes as New Hampshire residents are increasingly annoyed by the tactics of telemarketers.
Iris Estabrook is a state senator from Durham who is sponsoring legislation aimed at creating a state-wide do-not-call list.
"Consumers want increased privacy and protection from telemarketing fraud. They want an end to unsolicited intrusions into their homes using a service that they pay for. It has a major impact on peoples' lives, way beyond inconvenience, to the point where one constituent called it harassment." 18 sec]
States with do-not-call lists have had considerable success against the Florida credit-repair telemarketers.
Last month, regulators in Kentucky fined SDS $50,000 for violating the state's new do-not-call telemarketing law.
And New York, Oregon, Colorado, Missouri, and Indiana were among the states last year that successfully sued ICS for breaking their do-not-call laws.
PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNED Legislation LAST WEEK creating a national do-not-call registry.
And New Hampshire's House and Senate passed their own legislation designed to provide additional protection for New Hampshire consumers.
For NHPR, this is Brian McWilliams, in Durham.
