Missouri florists have bankrupted a New
Jersey telemarketer accused in a class action suit of tampering
with phone book listings to siphon callers away from local
businesses. The telemarketer, TTP, purchased phone book
listings under the same names as local florists, but did
not provide an address; the listings appeared side-by-side,
but when local callers dialed the number without an address,
they were directed to an out-of-state call center that
tacked on a handling fee and submitted the order to a different
area florist.
"The primary objective of both lawsuits is to get TTP out of Missouri," said
Gregory Leyh of Gladstone, the attorney for both class-action lawsuits. "TTP
cheats by pretending to be a local florist so it can fool consumers and steal
the legitimate business of Missouri florists. At least for now, TTP is no longer
in the floral business in Missouri."
"The primary objective of
both lawsuits is to get TTP out of Missouri," said Gregory
Leyh of Gladstone, the attorney for both class-action
lawsuits. "TTP cheats by pretending to be a local florist
so it can fool consumers and steal the legitimate business
of Missouri florists. At least for now, TTP is no longer
in the floral business in Missouri."
TTP's president, Thomas Meola, said
the company could no longer afford the cost of defending
the lawsuits.
"This is a victory for us," said Debbie
Fulton, owner of Gladstone Florist on North Oak Trafficway. "We
noticed our business began to pick up this summer, when
it is normally down. Then we found out that the telemarketer
had disconnected the phone."
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