California company pays for do-not-call list violations

A California company that mistakenly called Missourians on the state No Call List has agreed to pay a fine and stop making the calls, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced Thursday.

Dennis and Helen Walker, owners of Coronado, Calif.-based Small Business Network, signed an assurance of voluntary compliance and agreed to pay the state $45,000 for calling Missourians on the list, attempting to sell credit cards with a $250,000 line of credit to businesses, according to a news release.  

The Walkers, who filed the agreement in St. Louis City Circuit Court, also agreed to obtain an updated copy of Missouri's residential No Call List and make no future calls to numbers on the list. According to the release, the Walkers agreed to pay $5,000 each for future violations.

"Missouri's No Call law is clear, and businesses are understanding that we will prosecute them if they ignore the law," Koster said in the release. "The attorney general's office will continue to aggressively pursue telemarketers who ignore our laws and continue to make prohibited calls."

Missouri residents can sign up for the list or file complaints at the AG's Web site, or by calling (866) 289-9633.