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Do Not Call list imperiled
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12/5/4 | David Lazarus

Posted on 12/05/2004 10:30:28 AM PST by SmithL

About 66 million Americans have signed up for the national Do Not Call Registry, resoundingly declaring their desire not to be bothered by telemarketers.

"It's been a wild success," acknowledged Allen Hile, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington.

So why mess with it?

That's what the FTC says it may do in response to a petition from Voice Mail Broadcasting Corp., a Southern California direct-marketing firm that specializes in blitzing consumers with prerecorded phone messages.

The company argues that the Federal Communications Commission allows such calls under certain circumstances, which is true, and that all it wants is for the two agencies overseeing the Do Not Call list to be in harmony -- and, not coincidentally, to unite in authorizing prerecorded calls.

Not so fast, say consumer advocates. If the FTC changes its guidelines, people could be deluged with the phone equivalent of spam.

"It literally could open the floodgates to unwanted telemarketing," said Chris Hoofnagle, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington advocacy group.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bestgovtmoneycanbuy; donotcall; donotcalllist; ftc; lobbyists; privacy; telemarketing
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1 posted on 12/05/2004 10:30:28 AM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL

If the Do Not Call people share my phone numbers with those telemarketers, there's going to be hell to pay. Absolute HELL.


2 posted on 12/05/2004 10:36:11 AM PST by Prime Choice (I like Democrats, too. Let's exchange recipes.)
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To: SmithL
I'll listen to these calls - for $1 a min.
So what I need to do is write an application that answers the phone - allows friends, family and business relationship (the doctor) through but allows a marketer to opt in to leaving me his marketing message.

They would be asked for a credit card number and advised that they will be charged $1 per min with a 10 min minimum for premium service (meaning talking to me directly) or $.20 per min for normal service (meaning they can leave a message).
3 posted on 12/05/2004 10:36:53 AM PST by taxcontrol (People are entitled to their opinion - no matter how wrong it is.)
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To: SmithL

Bullsh*t! If I am contacted by anyone who use these telemarketers, the first thing I will do is call the store or business where it came from and inform them they just lost a customer permanently.


4 posted on 12/05/2004 10:43:19 AM PST by MKM1960
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To: Prime Choice
Ring-Ring... Homeowner: "Hello?"
Marketer "Yes... may I speak to the head of the household?"
Owner: "Why sure... just a minute..." (LONG dead silence)
Owner: "Ok... you still there?"
Marketer: "Yes." (frustrated tone)
Owner: "here's the head of the household..." (holding phone over toilet) FLUSH!!!...... CLICK!!!... Dialtone


5 posted on 12/05/2004 10:43:22 AM PST by Safrguns
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To: SmithL

Keep a whistle at the phone and give them a blast.


6 posted on 12/05/2004 10:48:47 AM PST by sgtbono2002 (If God doesnt destroy Hollywood he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.)
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To: SmithL

The "Do not Call List" is an example of unrestrained government spending.

I do not have any relationship with telemarketers except for the fact that I just hang up.

Every one else can hang up also.

Look at the falling dollar, just to see the effect that unrestrained government spending has.

Anyone who supports the "Do not call" laws has no right at all to complain about government spending, because they are unable to give up their pork.


7 posted on 12/05/2004 10:53:57 AM PST by Mark was here (My tag line was about to be censored.)
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To: SmithL

To make a comment either for or againat automated recording sales calls, click here:

https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-tsr/

I think the dealine for comments is January 5.


8 posted on 12/05/2004 10:54:55 AM PST by PAR35
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To: Mrs Mark

This makes absolutely NO sense at all.


9 posted on 12/05/2004 11:12:06 AM PST by sd-joe
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To: sd-joe

Everybody on the "Do Not Call" list should be asked to approve this first.


10 posted on 12/05/2004 11:17:06 AM PST by Semper Paratus
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To: Safrguns; sgtbono2002
The article is about allowing pre-recorded calls to customers on the DNC list. These calls are made made innocent machines. These machines are not responsible for the humans that use them.

Abusing these machines when they call you is the same as kicking the ass of the gun that shoots at you.

11 posted on 12/05/2004 11:27:07 AM PST by Jeff Gordon (Now is the time for all wise men to gloat. FOUR MORE YEARS,)
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To: Mrs Mark
I do not have any relationship with telemarketers except for the fact that I just hang up.

The calls are sort of disconcerting if you have to pause having sex to answer the phone.

12 posted on 12/05/2004 11:29:26 AM PST by Cobra64 (Babes should wear Bullet Bras - www.BulletBras.net)
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To: Semper Paratus
Everybody on the "Do Not Call" list should be asked to approve this first.

After I've been on the Do Not Call List, I have to tell them I Do Not Want to Be Called? Duh.

13 posted on 12/05/2004 11:31:17 AM PST by Cobra64 (Babes should wear Bullet Bras - www.BulletBras.net)
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To: Jeff Gordon

"These machines are not responsible for the humans that use them."

Then lock up the humans that buy and plug them in!

When they are released they should be put on a list of people that are never allowed to have a telephone.


14 posted on 12/05/2004 11:33:46 AM PST by dalereed
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To: Mrs Mark

"Pork" is hardly the problem with Government spending.

It's the trillions in entitlements that are spent, on top of exploding discretionary spending.

I love how people will hoot and howl ove rthe $600,000 spent on studying the owl rat living on Grandma Gerties farm, but yawn at the $21 billion the Feds spend on education every year, not to mention Social Security and Medicare.


15 posted on 12/05/2004 11:35:12 AM PST by Guillermo (It's the 99% of Mohammedans that make the other 1% look bad.)
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To: Mrs Mark
Telemarketing had reached the point of unbridled harassment.

Other than spending on bombs and such, the "Do Not Call" list was the first good use of government dollars I had seen in a long, long time.

 

16 posted on 12/05/2004 11:37:32 AM PST by Psycho_Bunny (“I know a greag deal about the Middle East because I’ve been raising Arabian horses" Patrick Swazey)
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To: SmithL

I've never understood how these idiots stay in business considering how everyone hates them.. yeah, ticking people off is a good way to get customers..


17 posted on 12/05/2004 11:41:50 AM PST by Awestruck (The artist formerly known as Goodie D)
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To: Mrs Mark
I do not have any relationship with telemarketers except for the fact that I just hang up. Every one else can hang up also.

This does not negate the annoyance of having to stop what you're doing and answer the phone, only to find it's someone intruding on your privacy - furthermore

all a hang up does is dump your number back into the system, only to be called again on the next go-round.

You must get the name of the person calling, then instruct them, per fed. law, to take you off the call list. They may comply - but will take up to 90 days to do so.

But you have to do this company by hundreds of companies. The "do not call" law takes care of that annoyance. (I worked for the largest issuer of Mastercard in the world - I learned more about the industry than I care to know. I will never own another charge card - only a debit card...which I look on as my own private credit card company - where I pay no interest, get no bill, never worry about the shenanigans they pull to zap customers with exorbitant rates/fees/ etc.

Credit card banks are one of the most destructive entities in history.

18 posted on 12/05/2004 12:02:28 PM PST by maine-iac7
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To: SmithL

hmmmm. None of the links for comments seem to be working. Does this mean that they can honestly say that they received no objections to the proposal?


19 posted on 12/05/2004 12:11:37 PM PST by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.)
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To: Awestruck
I've never understood how these idiots stay in business considering how everyone hates them.. yeah, ticking people off is a good way to get customers..

The only logical conclusion to me is that they are selling to other off duty telemarketers. ; )

20 posted on 12/05/2004 12:13:32 PM PST by EGPWS
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