A federal court in Florida has ordered Universal Processing Services, telemarketer Hal Smith and his company HES Merchant Services to pay $1,734,972 to the Federal Trade Commission, which the FTC will then refund to defrauded consumers who were scammed by robocalls these defendants called using the recorded voice of the infamous “Rachel of cardholder services.” Robocalls are computer generated mass phone calls that contain a variety of enticing offers, such as a lower mortgage rate, lower credit card interest or a better automobile warranty.  One thing that all  commercial robocalls share, however is that they are blatantly illegal, commercial robocalls having been banned years ago. Only politicians, charities and poll taking researchers are allowed to use robocalls.

In the case of these defendants, the robocall contained lies about reducing the rate on your credit card and the calls appeared to originate with “Rachel of cardholder services.”  The case brought against these defendants had been in the courts since November of 2012.

TIPS

It is easy to identify an illegal robocall.  Unless the call is from a politician, a charity or a poll taker, it is illegal and therefore you should ignore whatever great deal with which the caller is promising to provide you.  If you were one of the people scammed by these defendants, you may not know if it was any of these particular robocallers who cheated you, however, if you did lose money as a result of a robocall promising to lower your credit card interest rate, you should file a claim with the FTC at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1

The FTC will evaluate your claim and determine if indeed it was one of the defendants in this particular case who stole your money, in which case you will be eligible for some of the $1,734,972 to be refunded to victims of their scam.