Verizon settles lawsuit over movie telemarketing

Verizon Wireless settled a lawsuit with a telemarketing company that allegedly called its customers illegally to promote the movie, "The Velveteen Rabbit. "

The wireless carrier reached a $25,000 cash settlement with the Utah-based company Feature Films for Families. Verizon said it is going to donate the money to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Verizon alleged in the lawsuit that over the course of 10 days in February, nearly 500,000 calls were made to Verizon customers and employees from the telephone number 917-210-4609. Customers who answered heard either a pre-recorded message or an individual reading a script promoting the movie. Verizon said that the calls were made in rapid succession via an autodialer, sometimes as quickly as less than half a second apart.

According to Feature Films for Families' website, the company, which is based in Murray, Utah, produces and and distributes "uplifting and entertaining motion pictures that are suitable for all ages and strengthen positive values while containing no profanity, vulgarity, sexual content or graphic violence."

For more:
- see this release [1]

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