Attorney General's News Release

December 9, 2005

TE Mortgage Corp. to pay $15,000 for violating state No Call law under agreement with Attorney General Jay Nixon

St. Louis, Mo. — TE Mortgage Corp. will pay a civil penalty of $15,000 for telemarketing calls made to Missourians on the state's No Call list in an agreement reached with Attorney General Jay Nixon. TE Mortgage Corp. is a mortgage sales and service business based in Springfield.

The consent judgment, filed in the Circuit Court of the city of St.Louis, alleges that TE Mortgage placed telemarketing calls and engaged in telephone solicitation since July 2001 to consumers on Missouri's No Call list. As part of the agreement approved Tuesday by Circuit Court Judge David Dowd, TE Mortgage will cease calling Missourians on the list, and will provide Nixon's office with a report of measures the company has taken to assure further compliance with state law.

"Missouri's No Call law was implemented to assure Missouri citizens that they could sit down to the dinner table without constant, uninvited interruptions by annoying calls from telemarketers," Nixon said. "Through our aggressive enforcement efforts, Missourians can be assured that we will continue to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their rights and privacy."

TE Mortgage will pay a civil penalty of $15,000 to the Missouri Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund.

Currently, more than 2.1 million Missouri households have signed up for the Missouri No Call list. Missouri residents not yet on the list can have their numbers included or can file a complaint regarding a No Call violation via the Attorney General's Web site or by calling 1-866-NOCALL1.

To date, Nixon's office has obtained more than $1,298,000 from businesses for violating Missouri's No Call law.

Take the Attorney General's No Call and Telemarketing quiz

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818