By Monica Alleven
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Anyone who has received those annoying calls about expiring vehicle warranties can appreciate this: Verizon Wireless is going after the telemarketers and in some cases, donating settlement dollars to charity.
The company recently reached a settlement that led to a $50,000 donation to the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to empowering survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. Actress Mariska Hargitay of “Law and Order SVU” fame is president of the foundation.
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| Between takes on the set of Law & Order SVU, Mariska Hargitay, president and founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, accepts a $50,000 donation from Steve Zipperstein (right), vice president of legal and external affairs, and Leigh Schachter, assistant general counsel, of Verizon Wireless. |
The donation was the result of the settlement with National Auto Warranty Services and Explicit Media.
In a statement, Steven Zipperstein, vice president and general counsel at Verizon Wireless, says the auto warranty scheme has been going on for quite a while. The scheme involves pre-recorded messages to mobile phones indicating that a car warranty is about to expire.
Another recently filed suit in New Jersey Superior Court names Dealers Warranty (doing business as Federal Auto Protection), National Dealers Warranty and Tele Europe, B.V., and alleges the companies are responsible for illegally using an autodialer to reach Verizon Wireless customers. The first two companies are based in Missouri, and the third is based in the Netherlands.
Verizon has been particularly aggressive about going after telemarketers, bringing nearly 20 lawsuits against telemarketers, spammers and pretexters since 2004.
Verizon’s lawsuits rely on the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which makes it illegal to use an autodialer to make calls to wireless phones, as well as state fraud and privacy laws.