Telemarketing Industry Sues Over Do-Not-Call List

koat ^

[chance33_98]

Telemarketing Industry Sues Over Do-Not-Call List

POSTED: 1:52 p.m. EDT July 28, 2003

WASHINGTON -- The telemarketing industry is widening its legal challenge to the government's national do-not-call list.

The industry is suing a second federal agency over the call-blocking service, which telemarketers say will ruin their business and put up to 2 million people out of work.

An industry group had sued the Federal Trade Commission in January to try to stop the list. Now it's asking a federal court to reject new rules set by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC added its authority to the list to close regulatory loopholes and block calls from certain industries -- including airlines, banks and telephone companies.

The head of the American Teleservices Association calls the government agencies' actions "regulatory overkill."

Beginning in September, telemarketers will have to check the list every three months to see who doesn't want to be called. Firms could be fined up to $11,000 per violation.

The toll-free number to call to join the Do Not Call list is (888) 382-1222.

To register online, visit DoNotCall.gov

[MizSterious]

What a stupid comment. There are times, unfortunately, when I must answer the phone. When it turns out to be some bozo "telemarketing" it just infuriates me. Many times I'm able to let the machine pick it up--but there are others when I really have to answer the phone. The telemarketers live for those times, I swear.

On the other hand, as I said before, if they think they'll sell something to me, they're sadly mistaken. No one likes to buy something from someone who's a nuisance. I would think they'd welcome the no call list, since it saves them lots of time (and probably money) calling people who do not want to be annoyed by such calls.

[PhiKapMom]

I used to give them Rush Limbaugh -- in 2000, I made a recording of Vote Bush-Cheney!

I think I may try to the heavy metal route -- that's a great idea!

[dead]

It's for the wife's parents to sleep on when they visit.

[discostu]

A - there were already laws in place so you could put yourself on one company's do not call list. The problem was you had to go company by company. Because the phone IS private property these laws are perfectly reasonable. All the DNC list does is centralize the processing
B - They already tax the phone system, pay more attention to your bill
C - Given that the telemarketing companies will have to pay for the list and violation are fined $11 grand per incident this thing should pay for itself very nicely
D - What in the hell good is a phone you don't answer? Do yourself a favor and get rid of it, it'll save you money and keep you from blowing your highly undeserved horn here

[Chemist_Geek]

I suppose the next thing they'll be doing is suing me for refusing to answer my phone when they call. Since when does someone have the right to intrude on my privacy so they can hawk their aluminum siding, cheesy magazine subscriptions, and carpet cleaning services? (Hint, people: I do not do business with people who disturb my dinner.)

I vaguely remember reading somewhere in an article about this sort of thing, that some ad industry people want the "Mute" button banned from televisions!

[RogueIsland]

The industry is suing a second federal agency over the call-blocking service, which telemarketers say will ruin their business and put up to 2 million people out of work.

Funny, most telemarketing calls I get these days are from a wardialer playing a pre-recorded message. I'm not going to shed a tear at putting a wardialer and a .wav file out of a job.

[Bonaparte]

"most people understand that they have no right to use my car unless I so state."

I'll bet you're as tired as I am of removing those annoying ad sheets from the windshield. What right do these people have to do this?

[Onelifetogive]

I own my car.

LOL...Then take the catalytic converters off YOUR car!

[Conservababe]

What a stupid comment. There are times, unfortunately, when I must answer the phone.

See post #39. That is business making your life more ordered and convenient, not government.

But, of course, you want it free...from your government.

I am sorry, but I just have to laugh.

[Geritol]

Just a few semi random thoughts.

What if you have an automatic recording that preceeds an answer that basically says: "You have reached a solicitor free phone number. All solicitors or polsters that do not hang up now will be billed at a rate of $60 per hour."?

Can someone establish a specific tone as a no solicitor sign for the phone? If you have to buy or manufacture one for you house, it is only "fair" to have to buy one for your phone number.

If the postal box belongs to the government, what if you only pull out the letters that you are willing to claim as your own? Can we simply leave the rest in the box or mark them "return to sender"? Do we have a legal responsibility to accept and receive mail sent to our name and address?

[Conservababe]

D - What in the hell good is a phone you don't answer? Do yourself a favor and get rid of it, it'll save you money and keep you from blowing your highly undeserved horn here

I said that I answer the phone and my doorbell at my convenience. I am not a victim held hostage by the technology.

Sorry you are intimated by my posts, but I have a perfect right to speak. You really should think of blowing your own horn without being offensive, bozo.

[onedoug]

I'll channel it to voicemail rather than add my name to yet another government "list", thanks.

[discostu]

You could already demand to be off their call list, but it wasn't nearly so easy as you're hoping for. You had to get to their manager and demand to be put on their list, it was helpful to remind them of the penalties for not complying, you'd also want to get the name of the telemarketing company so you could record when you went on the list in case they violated it. And it was one company at a time. IMHO if they hadn't made the process of getting removed from their lists such a pain the government list would never have been born.

You can mark junk mail return to sender, most of it will be thrown away but they'll generally take it out. As for leaving crap in your box that's between you and your mailman, eventually if it gets too full they'll stop putting new mail in.

[discostu]

Yeah it's so convenient to just let the telemarketers ring and ring and ring.

You're post, intimidating?! No your post was insulting and idiotic. Don't confuse yourself with someone with a clue. You do have a perfect right to speak, and I have a perfect right to tell you that you spoke wrong.

Oh mis "conservatives have become whiners" is upset because somebody offended her WAAAA. Golden rule toots. Don't want to be insulted, don't insult.

[RightWhale]

What in the hell good is a phone you don't answer?

I haven't answered my phone in 15 years. Did I miss a job offer from the White House?

[discostu]

Might have missed a couple of deaths in the family. I despise phones, and I hate incoming calls the worst, but there are times when the ringing bell is a good thing. That's really when telemarketers are at their most annoying, when you need to be answering the phone for something useful and they keep calling.

[Bonaparte]

At least 80% of telemarketing calls are auto-dialed by a machine that follows a list of numbers. If you pick up the call, the machine very quickly signals a salesperson who then comes onto your line and harangues you.

However, if you record the first tone of the phone company's famous 3-tone disconnect signal and put it at the beginning of your answering machine's outgoing message, the telemarketer's machine is programmed to disconnect from your line, delete your number from its list and proceed to the next victim. Your friends who leave messages won't be affected by this. But the telemarketing autodialers will be.

Here's the layout.

[Sender]

I got Privacy Director at the same time I got DSL. It's great. Junk calls have just about stopped completely.

[hardhead]

Fifteen years ago I worked for a well-known electronics chain (do I really have to mention their name); at any rate at an annual convention to highlight the new year's merchandise the president of the company was talking about a device that they had developed that hooked inline between your television and cable/antenna/satellite input. It had the ability to detect the slight pause, or black space, just before a commercial comes on and would turn the screen black until the commercial was over and then programming would resume. Now, keep in mind, by today's standards this is old technology. Anywho, the company had been coerced by the National Association of Advertisers and the Direct Marketing Association to drop plans to sell the device. Somewhere there is someone who can fix this problem in a foolproof way. Where are the inventors when you need them?

[steve86]

What in the hell good is a phone you don't answer? Do yourself a favor and get rid of it

I tried that -- credit card companies would have cancelled my cards. Require a fixed land line, won't accept a cell or business number.

Another problem we have (not related to your comments) is overseas calls from relatives that show up on Caller-ID like any nuisance call. Can't distinquish them. And it is very difficult to get people from another culture to do something like leave their name or enter a PIN code -- they will just hang up.