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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554
April 22, 2003
1 Home Lending Corporation Glenn Allan Podell
d.b.a. Home Lending Corporation 30013 Trail Creek
Drive
d.b.a. Capital Line Financial Agoura Hills,
California 91301
d.b.a. Capital Line Financial Services
d.b.a. Capital Line Enterprises, Inc. Gary Higer
23925 Park Sorrento, Suite 200 4000-D West
Magnolia
Calabasas, California 91302-4010 Burbank,
California 91505
Attention: Glenn Allan Podell, President
Matthew Scott Powell Kristie Michelle
Powell
William Joseph Tessar 578 Carnation Court
Kristie Michelle Powell Simi Valley, California
93065
Gary Higer, Designated
Officer
William Joseph Tessar Matthew Scott Powell
471-A Augustine Way 4474 Alpine Street
Simi Valley, California 93063 Simi Valley,
California 93063-3420
RE: EB-03-TC-031
Dear Correspondents:
This is an official CITATION issued pursuant to section
503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the
Act), for violations of the Act and the Federal Communications
Commission's rules that govern telephone solicitation.1
It has come to our attention that your company has
delivered one or more prerecorded unsolicited advertisements to
residential telephone lines (see attachment). The Act and the
Commission's rules prohibit transmission of unsolicited
advertisements through prerecorded messages to residential
telephone lines except under the very limited circumstances
described
in the rules.2 The term ``unsolicited advertisement'' is
defined in the Communications Act and the Commission's rules as
``any material advertising the commercial availability or
quality of any property, goods, or services which is
transmitted to any person without that person's prior express
invitation or permission.''3 The attached information
provided to the Commission indicates that your company
delivered such unsolicited advertisements, through prerecorded
messages, to one or more residential telephone subscribers who
do not have an established business relationship with your
company and had not expressly invited or authorized the
call(s). Those actions violate section 64.1200(a)(2) of the
Commission's rules.
Separately, it appears that your company may have violated
other Commission rules governing prerecorded messages and
telephone solicitation. Under section 64.1200(e)(2)(iv), any
telephone solicitation - whether live or prerecorded - must
provide the called party with the name of the individual
caller, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the
call is being made, and an address or telephone number (which
may not be for an autodialer or prerecorded message player) at
which the person or entity may be contacted.4 According to
the attached information received by the Commission, it appears
that your telephone solicitation did not contain all the
required information.
Please be advised that subsequent violations of the
Communications Act or
of the Commission's rules of the type described herein may
result in the imposition of monetary forfeitures not to exceed
$11,000 for each such violation or each day of a continuing
violation. 5
Pursuant to section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act,
you may request a personal interview at the Commission's Field
Office nearest to your place of business. The nearest office
appears to be the Los Angeles Office at 18000 Studebaker Road,
Room 660, Cerritos, California 90703-2692, which you can
contact by telephone at
(562) 865-0598. You must schedule this interview to take
place within 21 days of the date of this citation.
Alternatively, you may submit a written statement to the
following address within 21 days of the date of this citation:
Kurt A. Schroeder
Deputy Chief
Telecommunications Consumers Division
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445-12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
If you choose to submit a written statement, your written
statement should specify what actions have been taken to
correct the violation(s) outlined above. You should also
include a copy of your company's written do-not-call policy as
required by section 64.1200(e)(2)(i) of the Commission's rules.
Please reference EB-03-TC-031 when corresponding with the
Commission.
If you request a meeting, reasonable accommodations for
people with disabilities are available upon request. Include a
description of the accommodation you will need including as
much detail as you can. Also include a way we can contact you
if we need more information. Please allow at least 5 days
advance notice; last minute requests will be accepted, but may
be impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or
call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau:
For sign language interpreters, CART, and other
reasonable accommodations:
202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty);
For accessible format materials (braille, large
print, electronic files, and audio
format): 202-418-0531 (voice), 202-418-7365 (tty).
Under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(e)(3), we
are informing you that the Commission's staff will use all
relevant material information before it to determine what, if
any, enforcement action is required to ensure your compliance
with the Act and the Commission's rules. This will include any
information that you disclose in your interview or written
statement. Please be advised that if you choose not to respond
to this citation and a forfeiture is issued, your
unresponsiveness will be considered in our assessment of a
forfeiture amount.
You should also be aware that the knowing and willful
making of any false statement, or the concealment of any
material fact, in reply to this citation is punishable by fine
or imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.
Sincerely,
Kurt A. Schroeder
Deputy Chief
Telecommunications Consumers Division
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
Enclosures
_________________________
1 47 U.S.C § 227; 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
2 The Commission's rules make it unlawful to ``initiate any
telephone call using an artificial or prerecorded voice to
deliver a message without the prior express consent of the
called party unless the call is initiated for emergency
purposes or ... is not made for a commercial purpose, is made
for a commercial purpose but does not include the transmission
of any unsolicited advertisement, [is made] to any person with
whom the caller has an established business relationship at the
time the call is made, or [is made by or on behalf of] a tax-
exempt nonprofit organization. 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2), (c);
see also 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B) (prohibiting all prerecorded
calls to residential lines ``unless the call is initiated for
emergency purposes or is exempted by rule or order by the
Commission....'').
3 47 U.S.C. 227(a)(4); 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(f)(5).
4 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(e)(2)(iv). In addition, the Act and
the Commission's rules impose separate identification
requirements for prerecorded messages. Under section
227(d)(3)(A) of the Act, all prerecorded messages ``shall, at
the beginning of the message, state clearly the identity of the
business, individual, or other entity initiating the call, and
... shall, during or after the message, state clearly the
telephone number or address of such business, other entity, or
individual.'' 47 U.S.C. § 227(d)(3)(A) (emphasis added); see
also 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(e)(2)(iv) (imposing identification
requirements for prerecorded messages delivered by automatic
telephone dialing systems).
5 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(3).