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Successful Do-Not-Call Complaints?

Posted by timothy on from the klangen-und-sturmin dept.

bcrowell writes "After some legal delays, today is supposed to be the first day that the Do Not Call registry will be enforced. Got my first illegal call just now, and strangely enough, when I said I was on the list and started asking for information, the telemarketer said my signal was breaking up (particularly strange since I wasn't on a cell phone.) Has anyone successfully gotten the necessary info from a telemarketer and then managed to file a complaint? You're supposed to be able to file a complaint at 888-382-1222, but their touch-tone system doesn't give you any way to do it. You're also supposed to be able to do it via the web, but there doesn't seem to be any form, although they say "You can file your complaint on this Web site using the File a Complaint page, which will be available starting October 1, 2003." Remember, it may take up to 3 months after you register until they're required to stop calling you." Tales of success? Tales of failure?

15 of 440 comments (clear)

  1. Get the information first by miracle69 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ask the telemarketer what company is calling and what company they are calling on behalf of BEFORE you tell them you're on the DNC list.

    --
    Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
  2. DNC Site by dj961 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Do Not Call site does have a form that you can fill out to file a complaint the address is https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.a spx

  3. Just karma whoring.. by wfberg · · Score: 4, Informative

    You can file a complaint here.

    --
    SCO employee? Check out the bounty
  4. play along by Delight-Delirium · · Score: 3, Funny

    We have a local do-not-call for our state. Whenever I've gotten calls of this nature, I'd just petend I am interested so they start telling me who they are and such, and then I kindly inform them that my number is on the list and they are about to get fined.

    Its so much fun, too!

  5. Wrong. by Kelz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Tales of a government program.

    I work at my county IS department and everything I do is proceeded by a phone book of paperwork. Expect the DNC list to not work for about a year, after which no one will want to file a complaint due to the 73-page form describing the callers information, company's information, their past credit history, and a ransom note for their 3-month old border collie.

  6. New telemarketers tactic by Chatmag · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This past week I've gotten three phone calls, all from Spanish speaking telemarketers. In the three years I've been here, I have never received any calls from any Spanish speakers, a few Jamaicans, but then with the GF being Jamaican, that's expected. I could hear the "boilerroom" in the background, so I'm sure it was telemarketers. I give them my stock reply, this is not a home telephone number, it is a business, and they hang up. I've always found telling telemarketers your number is a business number cuts down on the repeat calls.

    --
    Pete Carr Owner Chatmag.com
  7. MO No Call List by TheBracket · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I have a client who periodically has us subtract 'no-call' numbers from their calling database (little more than numbers and names, from a phone book). They hired me in a hurry when they started calling people on the Missouri No-Call List by accident. Apparently they were not fined for a single transgression - the attorney general gave them a grace period to adjust after learning of their error, with little more than a verbal slap on the wrist.

    I haven't heard from them about the federal list, so I doubt that they are compliant yet. They have voiced an interest in getting out of telemarketing altogether because of the growth/success of the Missouri no-call list; with any luck the federal list will be the last straw that makes them jump.

    As an aside, I was surprised by how much money some companies are charging to subtract a list of numbers from a call list; I charged my regular hourly fee, which isn't too much for DELETE FROM call_list WHERE phone IN (SELECT phone FROM AGList)! I later found out that some companies were charging thousands for 'safe' call lists on CD!

    --
    Lead developer, http://wisptools.net
    1. Re:MO No Call List by SiMac · · Score: 3, Funny

      Can you do me a favor?

      Just by accident one time:
      DELETE FROM call_list

      Thank you.

  8. Telemarketer Information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Got my first illegal call just now, and strangely enough, when I said I was on the list and started asking for information, the telemarketer said my signal was breaking up ... Has anyone successfully gotten the necessary info from a telemarketer and then managed to file a complaint?

    As far as I know you just need a few details like the company name and maybe a phone number or something. I've had two telemarkers call since the DNC list went into effect, and both times it was relatively siple to get a website out of them simply by role-playing a "naive but cautious" person, saying something like "Hmm, the offer sounds good, but I'm not sure. Do you have a website where I can find out more infomation, just so I can see that you folks are legitimate?" Telemarketers are usually happy to do whatever it takes to make you trust them. If they don't have a website, you should at least be able to get a phone number out of them by letting them give their pitch for a minute or two, then saying you're in the middle of something really important, but what they're selling sounds very interesting, so if you could just get a number where you can call them back... "And what was the name of the company again? Oh, ok. Where are you guys located?"

    Of course, if you start off the conversation with "Hey buddy, I'm on the Do Not Call List", you can't expect to get very far...

    But if you're polite and play your cards right, you can easily get all the information you need out of them. (If you really feel the need to dig at them, just save the "Hey buddy, guess what" bit until the end of the call, after you have played the nice and interested consumer and gotten all the necessary information out of them.)

    That said, both times I've gotten all the information I could possibly want about the telemarketer, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to submit a complaint...

  9. Availability of the DNC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I work in the telemarketing industry... and let me tell you guys, it's been a bitch to try and get a copy of the DNC. It wasn't even available online until a few days ago and the cost is staggering.

    I know... I know... not a lot of sympathy, but still, I work for a business who would like to do nothing more than play by the rules, but all kinds of barriers have been put up in our way.

    1. Re:Availability of the DNC by dacarr · · Score: 3, Informative

      Believe it or not, the FTC is charging a premium per year to use the list. Runs something like free for up to five area codes, $25/area code thereafter, not to exceed like $3000 per year or something like that. If it means having the money from tax dollars for some other worthwhile program like, say, how to make better canned spagetti sauce (I wouldn't put that one past the FDA, believe me), then yeah, they should probably charge the TM companies for the usage of the list.

      --
      This sig no verb.
    2. Re:Availability of the DNC by bfields · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I know... I know... not a lot of sympathy, but still, I work for a business who would like to do nothing more than play by the rules,

      No you don't, because the rules have always prohibited "telemarketing".

      The fact that these were rules of etiquette and not of law is no excuse.

      If people commit sufficiently egregious etiquette violations for a sufficiently long time, then eventually they irritate enough votors that the law steps in. The violators may then attempt to paint themselves as the innocent victims of changing times, acting suprised that it has "suddenly" become against the rules to interrupt people in their homes without their permission to make a sales pitch, or to pinch their secretary's butts, or whatever.

      The rest of us will be less than impressed by this rather disingenuous plea for sympathy.

      --Bruce Fields

  10. Too many ways around this by bscott · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does the do-not-call law cover companies based overseas, like Bermuda?
    Can the do-not-call law be enforced if, when you ask what company they represent, they suddenly don't speak-ee the Eeeenglish? (or "My supervisor is not here, sorry " is the other one I get a lot)
    What are you supposed to do when the call is an automated recording?
    What about when half the calls you DO get are from exempt organizations, like police fundraisers?

    This law is a good start, but don't for a minute think that it's gonna make more than a small difference by itself. Neither does CallerID, at least in my case - between my Mom's number being unlisted, my wife working at a place which shows up as "Anonymous", and her family calling from overseas ("Unavailable"), I'm just lucky my number is new and I only get a couple bad calls a week, 'cos I have to answer them all...

    --
    Perfectly Normal Industries
  11. Anti-Telemarketing Script by Doodhwala · · Score: 3, Informative


    One of the most useful resources I have found is the Anti-Telemarketing Script from Junkbusters.com. Apart from this, they also have tons of information on how to stop snail-mail junk, etc. Check them out.

  12. Re:Good Luck by pyros · · Score: 3, Informative

    I thought it was illegal (federal law) to use an automated dialer and not include all the pertinent info. Perhaps the phone number alone would be enough to pursue under that law. Also, SBC has reverse phone number lookup for business listings on SMARTpages.com.