Company fined $1M for harassing calls

A Phoenix company has been fined $1 million for repeatedly harassing people on the federal “Do Not Call” list.

Adobe Carpet Cleaning will be banned from telemarketing for six years, following a lawsuit by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

The company also agreed to pay the state $1 million in civil penalties for

“People have a right to privacy in their own homes without being hounded by illegal telemarketers.” Mark Brnovich Arizona attorney general

making the illegal telemarketing calls.

“People have a right to privacy in their own homes without being hounded by illegal telemarketers,” Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a written statement.

Adobe Carpet Cleaning, which sells cleaning services for carpet, upholstery and tile in Arizona, is owned by Anthony Tafoya.

The money will go toward investigating and filing consumer-fraud lawsuits against other illegal telemarketers, said Mia Garcia, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

If you opt into the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registry, sales calls to your personal cellphone or landline are restricted.

Most legitimate companies don’t call if your number is on the registry because it is illegal. If a company ignores the registry, there’s a good chance it’s a scam.

You still may receive political calls, charitable calls, debt-collection calls, informational calls and telephone surveys. In addition, companies you’ve recently done business with, or to which you’ve given written permission to call, may contact you.

If you ask a company not to call you again, it must honor your request. It’s a good idea to record the date of your request.

To sign up, visit donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register.

Your phone number should show up on the registry the next day. Most sales calls will stop once your number has been on the list for 31 days. You can verify that your number is on the registry by visiting donotcall.gov or calling 1888-382-1222.

Registrations never expire. Once you add a number to the Do Not Call Registry, you do not need to register it again.

You can register your home and mobile phones for free. Don’t pay anyone who claims they will register your number for a fee.

You can delete your number by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to delete.

Hang up on illegal sales calls. Don’t press buttons to be taken off the call list or to talk to a live person. Doing so will probably lead to more unwanted calls.

File a complaint with the FTC at complaints.donotcall.gov or call 1-888382-1222.

Investigate whether call-blocking services can help. Your phone company may be able to block a number, though there may be a fee. There are also online call-blocking services, call-blocking boxes and smartphone apps that block unwanted calls. Research whether the service costs money and whether it’s effective, including looking for reviews from experts and users.

Have you been scammed, defrauded or treated badly by a business? Contact consumer-protection reporter Rebekah L. Sanders at rsanders@azcentral.com.