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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554
July 29, 2003
Life Corporation Walter Ray and Lisa Monk
a.k.a. AAA Telephone Conferencing 1931 Westview Terrace
a.k.a. Access Advertising Arlington, Texas
76013-6506
a.k.a. Association of Luxurious Living
a.k.a. Confera Paging Game
a.k.a. Confere Walter Ray Monk
a.k.a. Confere Dating Game 545 South Main Avenue
a.k.a. Conference City Brookings, South
Dakota 57006-3329
a.k.a. Fidelity Checks, Inc.
a.k.a. MICD Hosting
a.k.a. Midwest Card Services Jim Kessler
a.k.a. Psychic Inroads 108 Half Moon Road
a.k.a. Relationship Foundation Brookings, South
Dakota 57006-3731
a.k.a. Single Stars
a.k.a. Singles Telephone Company
a.k.a. The Dating Game Darrell A. Jesse, Esq. 1
a.k.a. Voice Ventures, Inc. Crary, Huff, Inkster,
Sheehan,
1527 South Cooper Street Ringgenberg, Hartnett,
Storm &
Arlington, Texas 76010-4105 Jensen, PC
Attn: Walter Ray Monk, President/Director 600 Stevens Port
Drive
Amber Schober, President/Director Dakota Dunes, South
Dakota 57049-5149
Benjamin Sargent, Vice President
Brandy Monk, Secy./Treas.
Lisa Monk, Director
Nikki Baezi
Lisa Brillart
Jim Kessler
Jeffrey Fournier
John A. Hixson
RE: EB-03-TC-010
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.2
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.3 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.''4 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.5 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. 6
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 Dallas Office at 9330 LBJ Freeway, Room 1170, Dallas, Texas
75243-3429, which you can contact by telephone at (214) 575-6361.
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. Please reference EB-03-TC-010 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 The Telecommunications Consumers Division has obtained
information that Darrell A. Jesse, Esq., is listed as Life
Corporation's agent for service of process.
2 47 U.S.C § 227; 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
3 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....'').
4 47 U.S.C. 227(a)(4); 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(f)(5).
5 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).
6 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(3).