Attorney General's News Release

June 16, 2008

Nixon obtains temporary restraining order against Georgia businesses over No Call violations

St. Louis, Mo. - Attorney General Jay Nixon today obtained a temporary restraining order against two Georgia businesses and their owners for violating Missouri's No Call law. The court order against Versadebt Corporation and its owner Marvin Cox of Atlanta, and Debtsafe Inc. and its owner Jonathan Blake Curtis of Athens, Ga., was signed today by Judge Edward Sweeney in St. Louis City Circuit Court.

According to Nixon, the Attorney General's Office received hundreds of complaints from Missouri consumers on the state No Call list against the defendants. Specifically, the defendants made telephone solicitations to residential subscribers in Missouri in an attempt to charge consumers a fee to lower interest rates on their credit cards. The defendants failed to request a copy of Missouri's No Call database, and did not have prior express invitation or permission to make the telephone solicitations they allegedly have made.

Today's court order prohibits Versadebt and Debtsafe from continuing to contact Missouri consumers on the state No Call list through telephone solicitations. Nixon is also seeking a court order requiring the defendants to pay appropriate civil penalties and all court costs in the matter.

Nixon's efforts to crack down on telemarketers who violate Missouri's No Call Law recently hit the $3 million mark, which is the total amount telemarketers have been ordered to pay to the Attorney General's Office for No Call violations. Since 2001 when the law took effect, Nixon has enlisted the help of consumers whose home phone numbers are registered on the No Call list. Those consumers filed complaints with the Attorney General's Office when they continued to receive telemarketing calls, resulting in more than 1,000 enforcement actions brought by Nixon's legal staff.

Consumers can sign up for No Call or file complaints against telemarketers at Nixon's Web site, ago.mo.gov, or by calling 1-866-NOCALL (662-2551).

Take the No Call/Telemarketing quiz

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to the Communications Office.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818