Do Not Call Registry Set to Become Permanent

coondoggie passed us a NetworkWorld article about an initiative by the Senate to transform the Do Not Call list into a permanent institution. Originally individuals on the list were to have their place on the list revoked; up to a third of the people who signed up might have fallen off the list by the Autumn without renewing legislation. A move by the Senate this past Wednesday will permanently prevent salesmen from calling those who have registered for the list. "Aside from what telemarketing junk the bill does prevent, experts note what may also be a big deal is a provision that is NOT in this bill and that is protection for those other annoying time wasters: political robo calls."

Comments

Finally....

[Iphtashu Fitz]

My congresscritters are finally doing something I approve of!

Re:Finally....

[dgatwood]

Yes - But good luck persuading your "congresscritters" to add "political robo calls" to the list.

You misread the summary. The previous version of the legislation authorizing the DNC registry provided an exemption for non-profits, political calls, and surveys. The new one does not, so in effect, by not providing that exemption in this version, they did add those calls to the list of banned solicitation.

My feet are suddenly very cold. I think hell just became endothermic and is well on its way to a state transition.

Re:Finally....

[reddburn]

I worked at one of these places for a week (I had to leave before I killed myself), and actually, they get your name from public records and donor lists. If you've donated to a political campaign online, signed a petition, joined an e-mail list, even visited a political website with the right cookies (the first sophisticated tracking cookies were - according to R.N. Howard in New Media Campaigns - used by the RNC website in the 90s) in the past 9 years, your contact info is automatically added to that party's, candidate's, organization's (the RCCC, DCCC, moveon.org) list of people to harass on the phone.

If you tell them no, if you tell them anything *other* than to specifically "Remove me from your list," ("don't call again" doesn't work) they can legally call back in 90 days (6 mos. if you donate, and then they ask for 2x what you gave before as the start). Worse: you have to be the individual they're calling. If it's a spouse, the autodialer will call back the next day. The organization you donate to is paying these companies by the call, and the company also gets a percentage (right off the top) of your donation. Someone donates $50, the organization ends up with about $35 after all is said and done.

How about a do not mail list?

[XxtraLarGe]

I can just hang up on a phone call. I find junk mail to be far more annoying & damaging to the environment.

Re:How about a do not mail list?

[milsoRgen]

I can just hang up on a phone call.
Or not answer it all... I realized long ago just because some contraption starts making noise, nothing is forcing me to address it. Same with the front door and annoying friends, just because they can make some noise by hitting their meat clubs against some wood, doesn't mean I'm forced to get out of my E-Z chair...

Re:How about a do not mail list?

[Sabz5150]

I realized long ago just because some contraption starts making noise, nothing is forcing me to address it. Get married. Watch that change.

A better solution...

[mangu]

Or not answer it all...

I answer the phone and tell them "yes, just hold on a second". Then I leave the phone on the table, wondering how long will it take them to hang up this time.

What happens when numbers are reassigned?

[MSTCrow5429]

What happens to the status of the number when someone discontinues usage of the telephone number, say by moving or canceling your service and moving to VoIP? IF the number is then at some point reassigned to another person, does that number remain on the Do-Not-Call list? If it does, is that legitimate, as an individual can only vouch for their own phone numbers, and not that of a third-party?

Political Calls are No Big Deal, Junk Mail Worse

[Maltheus]

The occasional person polling me for my opinions doesn't bother me at all. It's simple enough to hang up if I don't want to bother. But in the days before the Do Not Call List, I'd hardly ever bothered answering my phone if it got bad.

Junk mail is far worse, IMO. You still have to sort through it to make sure you're not throwing anything important out. It usually just ends up turning my house into a mess because I don't have the time to deal with it all. At the very least, they could put those newspaper adverts in a bag or something. It's too easy to get that crap mixed in with real mail. I don't want anything that doesn't have my name on it (resident mailings), nor do I want credit card offers that can fuck me up if I don't dispose of them properly. I wish I could direct a private company to deliver my mail that won't having a problem stripping this stuff out for me.

Re:Isn't stopping all calls

[DanQuixote]

Here is an effective (though laborious) way to deal with that.

1. Register on National Do-Not-Call list.
2. Wait 3 month beginning period.
3. Get caller ID.
4. Wait for another call.
5. Be pleasant to the person, if you can order something cheap, say $10, do it.
6. Get their address and phone number as you place the order.
7. Photograph the Caller ID display as evidence.
8. Take good notes including date, time, person talked to, company name, as more evidence.
9. Copy the bill you receive for $10 as conclusive evidence of marketing intent.
10. Go to your county courthouse, lodge a small claim for $500 for a telemarketing violation.
11. Send them proper notice they are being sued.
12. Since they are often out of state, they won't show and you get default judgment.
13. If they do show, you have proof of listing, notice, call, and call purpose.
14. For bonus dollars, ($500 per item) look into whether they have, train to, practice and publish upon demand the required company calling policies.
15. Profit!!!

I've tried it, it works.