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Sacramento, Calif., Company Accused of Illegal Calling

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 September 2005, 18:00 CDT

Sep. 3--STOCKTON -- Sacramento-based Platinum Mortgage Co. has been accused of soliciting business through prerecorded telemarketing calls to area residents, a legal violation that, if proven, carries a fine of up to $11,000 per incident.

"That's against federal law, which prohibits prerecorded messages without the recipient's permission," said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for the California Attorney General's Office.

A number of residents who have registered their phone numbers with the Do Not Call Registry have reported answering their phones and being met by a prerecorded voice. The message offers two choices:

--Press "1" to opt out of a sales pitch for a mortgage product and never hear from the company again.

--Press "2" to listen to more information from the company. At the end of the message, the resident is asked for their name and a convenient time to receive a call back. At no time did the message mention Platinum Mortgage Co.

In one instance, Jason McCormick of Platinum Mortgage's Roseville office at 901 Sunrise Ave. called back to discuss his company's residential and commercial loan products. He said he was not a licensed agent.

"We've been in the business for about 15 years. We're as legitimate and professional as you can get," he said, describing Platinum as doing business all over California and having a branch office in Texas. Its main office is at 4030 S. Land Park Drive in Sacramento.

When asked about the initial telemarketing call, McCormick said, "I didn't make that call." He noted that he was aware of the rules on telemarketing and referred further questions to his broker, Donald Stocker.

Stocker, a licensed real-estate broker and president of Platinum Mortgage, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. His company is in good standing with the Better Business Bureau and state agencies that regulate mortgage brokers.

Dresslar, with the Attorney General's Office, recommended that residents who receive such calls should note the date, time of day and any information they can obtain, such as a phone number, company name or caller's name, and inform his office on its toll-free number at (888) 382-1222 or on the Web at www.donotcall.gov.

The number is co-sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission, which maintains the National Do Not Call Registry, and can also be used to register your phone number. About 80 million phone numbers are registered, about half the160 million numbers in use.

Do-not-call registration in California is good for five years unless you change your telephone number. Telemarketers have up to 30 days from the date a number is registered to remove it from their call list.

Most telemarketers are covered by the rules, but there are some exceptions, including charities, political groups and companies that have an established relationship with a consumer.

The law also allows calls from the owner of a local business within 50 miles of the consumer's home, but not across state lines.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Record

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