DirecTV to Settle FTC Charges

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that DirecTV Group Inc. would pay $5.3 million to settle charges that the satellite television operator had violated the FTC’s rule against calling people who have asked not to receive sales calls.

The FTC said it was the largest civil penalty the agency had ever announced in a case enforcing a consumer protection law.

A complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the FTC names DirecTV and five companies that conducted telemarketing on its behalf for calls made to consumers listed on the national do-not-call registry.

Settlements with DirecTV and two of the telemarketing companies and their principals were filed along with the complaint.

“This multimillion-dollar penalty drives home a simple point: Sellers are on the hook for calls placed on their behalf,” FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras said in a statement.

El Segundo-based DirecTV, the top U.S. satellite TV company, denied any violation of the telemarketing sales in court papers but said it wanted to settle the charges.

DirecTV said the majority of complaints the FTC received were related to calls placed by a small number of former independent retailers that ignored DirecTV policies prohibiting unauthorized telemarketing.

“DirecTV has agreed to continue to closely monitor independent retailers to ensure that their telemarketing practices comply with the law and DirecTV’s policies,” the company said.

DirecTV shares fell 5 cents to $13.72.