Posted on 06/22/2002 1:11:50 AM PDT by sarcasm
Saturday, June 22, 2002 - A group of telemarketers is suing to stop the state's "no-call" list from taking effect next month, alleging it violates their free-speech rights and provides unfair exemptions to politicians and nonprofit organizations.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, claims the list is too vague and broad, and will cause the state to lose "billions of dollars and thousands of jobs" by restricting interstate commerce.
"Unfortunately, this law does more harm than good. It poses a serious threat to Colorado's already weakened economy," said Jeff Burke, director of Colorado Citizens for Free Speech, among several telemarketers who filed the lawsuit.
Approved by the Legislature last year, the list is scheduled to take effect July 1. At least 748,000 Coloradans have signed up through a Web site or by calling a toll-free number.
Telemarketers must buy the list within 20 days of each quarterly update. Violators with three or more complaints in a month can be prosecuted and fined $2,000 per violation.
Solicitors for nonprofit and political organizations campaigning on behalf of politicians are exempt from the law, exceptions required by federal law.
Burke and lawyer Robert Corn-Revere argue that's unfair, and say federal law already restricts telemarketers from calling people who ask them not to. A government-approved list is no better than caller ID or other call blocking devices, Corn-Revere said.
"Why does the state of Colorado get to decide who has the right to call you and who doesn't?" Burke asked.
The lawsuit, similar to one pending in Indiana, was filed against state Public Utilities Commission Director Bruce Smith, Boulder-based e-Infodata, which administers the list, and Attorney General Ken Salazar, who said he looks forward to defending the list in court.
"Colorado's law, like that of numerous states, is a common sense solution for Colorado residents who feel strongly about protecting the privacy of their homes," Salazar said.
State Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, who sponsored the bill, said lawmakers had concerns about freedom of speech issues last year but thought they had worked them out with Salazar's office.
"To me, this is a privacy issue, not a freedom of speech issue," White said. "We all have a right to privacy just as much as we have a right to freedom of speech.
"I think it would be a travesty of justice if the will of the people was overturned in this case," he added.
A court hearing was expected to be scheduled next week. Colorado is one of 21 states that have enacted or are implementing laws to create no-call lists.
As much as I dislike the concept of telemarketing, I think they might just have a leg to stand on with this defense.
I don't really know what all the whining over telemarketing is about anyways. I haven't spoken to one in ages. If my caller ID says "unavailable" I simply don't pick up the phone.
Now what really gets me steamed are unsolicited faxes. Those waste paper which I hate!
1. When my Mom calls, her system doesn't provide Caller ID, so I don't know whether an "unavailable" call is from her or whether it's a telemarketer.
2. Most of the people I would like to speak with know that I work at night and that calling me in the afternoon or early evening will probably awaken me. While I am usually willing to accept a call from a friend or relative, being awakened by an unsolicited, unwelcome telemarketer call does not put me in a good mood.
3. I can avoid door-to-door sales by posting a $1 "No Solicitations" sign on my door. Why must I pay $5/year to the state to for the same consideration (not to mention $10/month to the telco for Privacy Manager and Caller ID)?
4. Why does it have to be an "opt out" system? Why can't those who are willing to accept telemarketer calls "opt in" by placing their names on a list that is distributed to the telemarketing companies?
5. Why don't the telemarketing companies pay me to place my name on the list? I'm saving them lots of time and wasted calls by telling them in advance that I will not purchase anything from them.
6. Why are non profits and political organizations exempted? Do they think I like having my time wasted when it's someone offering me the opportunity to pay money for nothing rather than pay money for something?
I'm sure I'll think of another half dozen before the day is over. Can you tell I was awakened by a telemarketer last night?
A guy I know has recorded on his machine, "If you want to talk to me, you gotta talk to the machine". Screens his calls that way, works pretty well...JFK
FYI sleavester
And toner, which is expensive. I agree that they probably have a case, but much as I hate interference in free enterprise, I was relieved when Missouri's no-call list went into effect.
<Carolyn
That's the one that I don't get. If someone calls me, and violates my privacy, it shouldn't matter if their number is unlisted or not. I have a right to know who is calling me! I wish there were a function that would prevent calls from unidentified numbers from even going through.
Now what really gets me steamed are unsolicited faxes. Those waste paper which I hate!Those are already against the law. It's a violation of the TCPA. You can collect $500 per incident from the faxer, unless you live in Missouri (a judge there recently decided it was unconstitutional, but the ruling doesn't apply outside the, uhm, is it the 8th?)
Call them up, offer to settle for $300-$400 to avoid having to go to small claims court. Most will just write you a check right then, and pretty much ALL of them will stop faxing you.
I do not believe that the burden should be on the citizens to stop these invasive phone calls. Instead, I believe that telemarketers should only be able to call people who are on a "please-call-me" list.
That is, anybody who desires to receive telemarketing calls at home should put their names and phone numbers on this list and the telemarketers can call only them.
This is the ideal situation for everybody involved. Telemarketers will be able to reach a receptive audience in a much more efficient manner and those who do not want telemarketing calls at all will not be bothered.
IT WORKS we have had 90% LESS calls since hubby put this message on our answering machine!
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