Dane County judge orders telemarketing company to pay hefty fine

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A Dane County judge has ordered a telemarketing company to pay more than $52,000 in fines for violating laws that prohibit companies from calling residents on a no-call list.

Publishers Marketing Services Inc., which sells magazine subscription renewals and is based in Pinellas Park, Fla., called about 70 Wisconsin residents on the no-call list and failed to register as a solicitor in the state, according to a news release put out Tuesday by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s office. The company also deceived some customers, according to the release, by saying their subscription rates were going to rise if they didn’t renew quickly.

Van Hollen’s office filed suit against the company in July. The company never responded to the suit, and Dane County Circuit Judge Amy Smith entered her judgment Sept. 18.

Smith also ordered the company to register in Wisconsin as a telemarketer before making any more telemarketing calls.

According to a previous news release, the company has been the subject of multiple complaints since 2008.