Sunset Mortgage settles with PA Attorney General
By MortgageDaily.com staff
5/25/2004

A mortgage company was fined $20,000 for reportedly violating conditions of Pennsylvania's "Do Not Call" law.

Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Jerry Pappert recently announced that the state Bureau of Consumer Protection entered into a consent agreement with Sunset Mortgage Company L.P. The consent, which requires that the Pennsylvania-based mortgage company pay $19,000 in civil penalties and $1,000 for investigation costs, put an end to the lawsuit the Bureau filed in February accusing the company of violating the state's Consumer Protection Law and Telemarketer Registration Act.

The "no call" law reportedly took effect for telemarketers on Nov. 1, 2002 and requires that every telemarketer calling Pennsylvanians must first purchase a record of the people who have notified the "no call" list administrator that they do not wish to receive telephone solicitation calls, according to the AG's Web site.

The AG said the lawsuit was filed after an investigation into complaints from consumers located in ten Pennsylvania counties. The suit accused Sunset of failing to purchase the "no call" list before engaging in telemarketing activities from January through July of last year.

According to the lawsuit, Sunset telemarketers called consumer's homes in an attempt to sell mortgage refinancing services. The consumers complained that they were registered on the state's "no call" list and should not be solicited, but the callers claimed that they were exempt from the law and were permitted to contact anyone. Consumers also complained that the callers misrepresented who they were and on whose behalf they were calling.

"Fortunately, consumers are fully aware of their rights under the Telemarketer Registration Act and reported receiving the calls despite what they were told over the telephone," Pappert said in the statement. "This case should send a message to businesses that consumers understand this law and will report noncompliance."

In addition to the fines, Sunset, which has offices in three Pennsylvania counties and in Wilmington, Del., was permanently enjoined from violating the Consumer Protection Law and the Telemarketer Registration Act, and was barred from conducting telemarketing campaigns in the state without purchasing the "no-call" list, the AG said.

The 19 residents who filed formal complaints with the AG office will share 10% of the civil penalty obtained, which means they will each receive a maximum payment of $100, the report said.

Sunset did not immediately respond to requests for a statement.

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