Advertisement

Mortgage Investors Corp. reaches settlement with state in do not call list lawsuit

 
Published March 20, 2014

The state has reached a settlement with Mortgage Investors Corp. after it filed a lawsuit last year accusing the home loan refinancing giant of cold calling people on the do not call list and harassing them with multiple calls each day.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services agreed to a $35,000 settlement, which it said will cover its administrative, investigative and litigation costs. MIC is one of the largest refinancers of home loans for veterans, and is chaired by well-known businessman and local philanthropist Bill Edwards.

"The goal in this case was to get them to stop calling consumers," Erin Gillespie, a spokeswoman for the FDACS said of why the state settled. She added that her department has not received "a single complaint against (MIC) since the lawsuit was filed."

The state filed its lawsuit in June 2013, shortly before the Federal Trade Commission levied a record-setting civil penalty of $7.5 million against MIC, the largest ever for the Do Not Call rule.

The FTC said telemarketers misled service members by telling them they were affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The FTC also said the company told people they could sign up for low-interest, fixed-rate mortgages at no cost, but in reality the company only offered adjustable rate mortgages with rising interest rates.

Lawyers for MIC could not be reached for comment.