Posted on 11/27/2004 3:43:24 PM PST by Graybeard58
The agency overseeing the national Do Not Call Registry is considering opening a loophole in the year-old program to allow companies to deliver "pre-recorded message telemarketing" to American homes.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based privacy watchdog, says the change could result in the 64 million people enrolled in the list being bombarded by "answering-machine spam" and other unwanted voices on voice mail.
The Federal Trade Commission says the change would have any dramatic results.
Allen Hile of the FTC's division of marketing practices, who is overseeing the proposed rule change, said the measure sought by the Voice Mail Broadcasting Corp. is only intended to bring FTC rules in line with those of the Federal Communications Commission; the FCC rules permit pre-recorded telemarketing messages to customers of companies.
Hile said companies would be allowed to send the messages only to their existing customers or those with which they already have business relationships. If they object to the calls, they would have the "opt out" of receiving further calls, he said.
-- Scripps Howard News Service
Hile added that companies using the method to contact customers would also have to clearly identify themselves in their messages.
The FTC has established the Web site https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-tsr for the public to comment on the proposed change by Jan. 20.
EPIC says altering the rules of the Do Not Call list at this time is dangerous because telephone technology is changing with the use of virtually cost-free Internet calling. The group says that creates a "perfect storm" to barrage American homes with unwanted telemarketing and answering-machine spam.
The organization says that if the calls are permitted, Voice Mail Broadcasting should be required to get permission from consumers before sending any messages to their telephones, a so-called "opt-in" plan. Telemarketers oppose opt-in proposals. Voice Mail says its technology can send 1.5 million messages a day, and EPIC says that if the loophole is opened, other companies can be expected to take advantage of it as well.
"We have 2,000 "anytime" minutes and unlimited "nights and week ends" for less money than we paid for land line service and it meets our needs"
Same here, and we've saved a bundle. I live out in the sticks and EVERYTHING was long distance on the land line.
Call family and friends out of state on nights and weekends. I am long winded but have NEVER been able to use up all the minutes I get.
Government didn't do a thing except uphold my right to privacy when I requested it.
If I hadn't requested being put on the "no call" list, the Government wouldn't do a thing.
I'm doing it. Not the Government.
For Release: November 12, 2004
FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed TSR Amendment On Call Abandonment
The FTC today announced that it will publish a notice in the Federal Register next week seeking comment on a proposal to modify the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to allow telemarketers to use prerecorded messages when they call consumers with whom they have an established business relationship. The Commission also determined to include in the Federal Register notice a policy statement indicating that, pending completion of the amendment proceeding, the Commission will not initiate an enforcement action against a seller or telemarketer for using recorded messages in calls to established customers if it does so in conformity with the proposed amendment to the TSR.
Currently, the TSR's "call abandonment" provisions provide that a telemarketer may use a prerecorded message - rather than a live sales representative - in no more than three percent of the calls answered by a live consumer, not an answering machine. There is currently no exception for calls delivering prerecorded messages to consumers with whom the seller has an established business relationship, although the Federal Communications Commission's similar regulations have such an exception. A telemarketing firm, Voice Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC), petitioned the FTC to modify the TSR,arguing that such a change would make the rules of the two agencies more consistent, yet would not expose consumers to the abusive practices the TSR's call abandonment provisions are designed to prevent - "hang-up" calls and "dead air."
Loophole??? Loophole nothing. That would, for all intents and purposes, invalidate the whole reason for having it in the first place. The only thing more annoying than than human telemarketers, are automated ones. I can't even shut those b*st*rds up by hitting erase when they leave a message on my voice mail, and their spiels are getting tediously long. And you can't tell them that you're on the do not call list because they don't care.
Check out these two links:
For nerds: Slashdot | Clever Caller ID Tricks with VoIP
For non-nerds: Website offers Caller I.D. falsification service
So even if the FCC doesn't create the loophole, there are already ways around it. I've gotten a few suspicious calls myself already. Got one the other day with '000-0000' showing up as the originating number.
Also, give PhoneTray Free a try, a pretty nifty little piece of call-management freeware.
====================================================
For Immediate Release
FTC Proposal is Regulatory “Milestone” for Voice Broadcasting
Commissioners Vote 5-0 in Favor of VMBC’s Voice Broadcast Petition
Costa Mesa, CA – (November 17, 2004) Responding to a Voice Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) request, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a regulatory notice that specifically authorizes the use of voice mail messaging with established customers.
To assist providers and enterprises utilizing Voice Broadcasting, VMBC will be hosting a series of conference calls the first week of December addressing this important regulatory milestone for direct marketers who benefit from or desire to benefit from utilizing Voice Broadcasting to communicate with their existing customers.
Business enterprises who have studied Voice Broadcasting have concluded that this channel is an important part of an effective Customer Relationship Communication (CRC) program that results in increased customer loyalty, brand image enhancement and increased marketing return on investment.
The ability of enterprises to achieve these consumer-centric benefits was put into some doubt last year when the FTC modified the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) resulting in a conflict between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the FTC on whether these type calls would be allowed. The modification to the TSR classified calls with pre-recorded messages as abandoned calls and included a provision prohibiting abandoned calls. The modification was designed to reduce annoying calls in which when answered no person was on the other line and the consumer experienced “dead air.”
VMBC recognized that the results of extensive case studies on the consumer-centric capabilities of Voice Broadcasting could provide valuable information enabling the FTC to reach a different determination as to how they could best regulate pre-recorded messages.
“We often run into prospective clients who are not familiar with how some of the most consumer-centric organizations are utilizing this channel to build customer loyalty, enhance their brand image and generate incremental sales,” said Jesse Crowe, founder and president, VMBC. “Having studied campaigns covering millions of messages, we were very aware that our clients’ campaigns generate very positive responses and virtually no complaints.”
“As a result, we believed that it was very likely that the FTC had no complaints or data about any blue-chip companies utilizing pre-recorded messages. Thus, we felt it important to present comprehensive quantitative and qualitative feedback from over 5 million messages for the FTC to evaluate the consumer-centric nature of the channel,” Crowe continued.
“We appreciate the extensive and lengthy thought and consideration given to this issue by the FTC and are very pleased as to how they have proposed to amend the TSR. The unwavering support of the Direct Marketing Association and John Kamp and Bill Baker of Wiley, Rein & Fielding were instrumental in this process,” added Crowe.
Allen Hile, assistant director of the FTC's Division of Marketing Practices told DM News that VMBC "made a very persuasive point" when it noted that voice mail messages should not be precluded by the abandoned call rules adopted last year when the FTC established the National Do Not Call Registry. "We decided they were right," said Hile.
In their press release the FTC stated, “The Commission has proposed to amend the TSR along the lines requested by VMBC because the harms that the call abandonment provisions were intended to remedy seem unlikely to arise from the telemarketing campaigns that VMBC describes.”
The release goes on further to say, “The Commission also determined to include in the Federal Register notice a policy statement indicating that, pending completion of the amendment proceeding, the Commission will not initiate an enforcement action against a seller or telemarketer for using recorded messages in calls to established customers if it does so in conformity with the proposed amendment to the TSR.”
The full text of the FTC press release and the notice to the Federal Register can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/11/tsramend.htm.
VMBC is planning a series of conference calls for enterprises utilizing or considering utilizing the channel and for Voice Broadcast providers. The conference calls will provide additional background on the petition process with the FTC, how the proposed modification can benefit enterprises, and how to voice opinion to the FTC. The conference calls will occur the first week of December and will be open only to registered participants.Click Here to register.
About VMBC
Voice Mail Broadcast Corporation is a privately held company that pioneered Voice Broadcast technology and has delivered brand-building personal invitations and reminders for Fortune 500 companies, high-profile non-profit organizations and political groups since its inception in 1997. In addition to Voice Broadcast services, VMBC provides additional customer-centric communications solutions including interactive outbound services, customer surveys, polling, inbound services, custom voice-driven applications and media performance tracking tools.
VMBC employs some of the most respected branding and marketing professionals who have lead direct marketing and branding efforts for Fortune 500 companies. In addition, VMBC employs a world-class development team that has continually perfected VMBC technologies.
MEDIA CONTACT
Debra Curran, Marketing Manager
877-840-8622
dcurran@vmbc.com
www.vmbc.com
"Can I just simplify this for everyone...get an unlisted number and almost all of this goes away."
That has not worked for me. I was still getting calls on my unlisted number until I signed up for the list.
Think about it: If your doing business with anyone, they have your number. I believe they share/sell these lists to other companies that don't directly compete.
Went online and filed complaint with FCC multiple time and we get a standard answer that they do not enforce individual complaints. Have complained to congressman with no success. Anyone have similar problem with any type of success?
I'm sorry you feel so 'victimized' by a simple call. Let's run to the government to fix it shall we? Heaven knows in a free market, the situation could never be resolved. 'Conservatives' can't distinguish between government intervention and freedom it seems...
And therein lies the problem with the conservative movement. Who cares if it's actually conservatism at work? I don't like it so I need the government to fix it. Let's put some more restrictions on the free market, add more government bureaucracy, and get something else under government control. All because we don't 'like' it. That's good.
That's interesting, really it is. I chose to use a solution provided by a private company that blocks any calls that the dialer does not supply their number. I think I have had perhaps 5 calls in the past two years. The solution is there so you can't use the 'liberals won't let us have it' cop out. It's just so many 'conservatives' would rather add more government bureaucracy to the system instead of paying a dollar or two a month for a private solution
Conservatism is a means to an end for some of us, not the ultimate goal. Besides, what you're saying is that telemarketing doesn't bother you enough to do anything about it, because there really wouldn't be any mechanism for stopping it without something like the national do not call list. Unless you have a sound alternative, you're demanding that everyone else just put up with it. I agree that government bureaucracy is a major problem in our country, but sometimes the rule of law permits us to protect ourselves against others in ways that both keeps the peace and improves our daily lives. The law isn't perfect. It gets twisted. But sometimes it works. The do not call list has done very well. One thing that it didn't help with was political calls. People were being asked their voting intentions and to confirm their party membership over the phone during the 2004 election. I can't say that is good for liberty, either.
Wow, that's insight. Let's just pass another few laws for things 'conservatives' don't like about life. Why would a conservative (or at least someone that calls themselves a conservative) expect the government to do anything about it?
I'm doing it. Not the Government.
Really now...
Allen Hile of the FTC's division of marketing practices, who is overseeing the proposed rule change, said the measure sought by the Voice Mail Broadcasting Corp. is only intended to bring FTC rules in line with those of the Federal Communications Commission; the FCC rules permit pre-recorded telemarketing messages to customers of companies.
Seems according to this, the FCC is in charge of it? Are you the FCC? You want to do it yourself? Here's a solution offered by private industry in my area
Of course that will cost you a dollar or two a month. But I agree with you , I think it's better to run to the government for a solution instead of 'doing it ourselves'....
We tried solving this problem with the free market, but the telemarketers just wouldn't listen.
We tried getting unlisted phone numbers -
They started sequential dialing
We tried getting caller ID -
They found a way to spoof the ID boxes
We tried getting call blocking -
The found a way to spoof THAT
We tried the free market, but they didn't want to hear it. And THAT is exactly what the government is for, when you have someone that won't listen to reason you apply force, government is that force. If the telemarketers would have just listened the first time we told them to stick it there wouldn't be this list. There's nothing unconservative about realizing that sometimes you have to bring in the government, what's unconservative is thinking that telemarketers have a right to call you.
I provided the link to Bellsouth's privacy director. I'm sure your own phone company has one. Do you want me to send you the dollar or so a month so you don't have to pay for it either? That's what it really boils down to isn't it? No one wants to pay for their 'life improvement'.
I agree that government bureaucracy is a major problem in our country, but sometimes the rule of law permits us to protect ourselves against others in ways that both keeps the peace and improves our daily lives.
Wow, as many times as I have read the Constitution of these United States, I can't tell you how many times I've tripped over the responsibility the national government has to 'improve our daily lives'.
One thing that it didn't help with was political calls. People were being asked their voting intentions and to confirm their party membership over the phone during the 2004 election. I can't say that is good for liberty, either.
Well imagine that. The national government forces private industry to install a 'do not call' list, takes your number for you, and then turns that number over to the political parties. The absolute gall of the national government....FWIW, I received no political calls this season either. I regularly vote and unfortunately am still listed as Republican (even though I no longer see the Republican party as conservative) in my state, so I should have received more than one call from some political party. That is unless the combined action of not putting my phone number on a list owned by the national government and using a private industry solution to 'protect' myself from these unwanted calls was the correct solution...
If we had reasonable standards for privacy we wouldn't have a problem, would we? I'll abandon support for the do not call list when companies are effectively banned from exchanging personal data about me outside of their own immediate need to provide me the services for which I paid.
I agree with that.
and it doesn't really matter to me whether it's considered outside someone else's definition of conservatism or not.
What does belong on the list of conservative values is privacy.
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