DirecTV is defending automated sales calls to Do Not Call List subscribers as “informational,” and “not telemarketing.” The satellite TV provider recently called customers to say: “Because you are on our Do Not Call List, we can’t call you with all of our super-awesome special promotions.” This bothered reader Nina, who fired off angry letters to both DirecTV CEO, Chase Carey, and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Nina received the following pigheaded reply from DirecTV counsel, Rose Foley:
*Rose G. Foley*
*Direct Dial: (310) 964-2021*
*Facsimile: (310) 964-4884***Dear :
I am responding to your September 23 and 25, 2007 letters to the FCC, which you copied to Chase Carey. I am sorry that we troubled you with our recent calls about your do-not-call status.
The purpose of our calls was not to sell you anything or change your do-not-call status without your consent. They were purely informational calls intended to remind you of your status and give you an opportunity to change your do-not-call preference.
We initiated this recent do-not-call update campaign in order to make sure that information about our customers’ preferences is up to date and accurately reflects our customers’ wishes. We have found that a customer who at one time requested to be put on our internal do-not-call list may later decide that he or she would like to receive information from us about a variety of things.
Since our calls were informational in nature, and not telemarketing sales calls, they fall outside the scope of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and related federal and state laws and regulations governing telemarketing sales practices. As such, our calls did not violate any of these statutes or regulations.
I have confirmed that your number was removed from this campaign. I hope this explains why we made the calls and addresses your concerns.
Sincerely,
Rose G. Foley
DIRECTV Legal Department
We would love to hear what the army of lawyers over at the FTC and FCC thinks of DirecTV’s deceptive and likely illegal interpretation of the The Do Not Call Implementation Act.
PREVIOUSLY: DirecTV Calls Customer On Do-Not-Call List To Ask If They Want To Hear A Sales Pitch Anyway
(Photo: blatch)
those people who yank “do not call me” are obnoxious. they get called anyway and however high the fines could be, they’re merely a small fraction of profits, which is regarded as cost of business.. and those people are desperately trying to put more people out of jobs, which are scarce these days because of massive layoffs everywhere, and even that doesn’t work so far as all call centers are fully operational in profit. what they don’t realize is, if they push us too far, we can move call centers to, say, phillippines or mexico, who are not bound by U.S. laws, and move corporate offices to another offshore country, like automobile and other manufacturers are moving jobs to cheaper countries which costs more loss of jobs nationwide, and we can still call that way and get no fines. so one day, you can look at the U.S. where there is no job for anyone but lots of products and advertising..