We’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from people who are fed up with telemarketers ignoring the Do Not Call list and want to take the bastards to court. Now, to be fair, sometimes the people who email don’t fully understand what is and what is not allowed under the law.
It’s important to understand that if you have a business relationship with the company, they are allowed to call you for 18 months after your last purchase, delivery, or payment. However, if you tell them to add you to their own personal “do not call list” they are supposed to stop calling, even if your number is not registered on the do not call list.
So, let’s say that you’re sure that Whatever, INC. is ignoring the Do Not Call list and they’ve called you more than once over a 12 month period.
What can you do?
Well, we’re not lawyers, and let’s face it, we don’t even watch Law & Order, so we decided to ask renowned smarty-pants consumer lawyer Sam Glover for some guidance.
He pointed us to a section of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act Of 1991 that deals with a consumer’s right to seek damages from Do Not Call scofflaws. Here it is:
(5) Private right of action
A person who has received more than one telephone call within any 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity in violation of the regulations prescribed under this subsection may, if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of court of a State bring in an appropriate court of that State—
(A) an action based on a violation of the regulations prescribed under this subsection to enjoin such violation,
(B) an action to recover for actual monetary loss from such a violation, or to receive up to $500 in damages for each such violation, whichever is greater, or
(C) both such actions.It shall be an affirmative defense in any action brought under this paragraph that the defendant has established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to effectively prevent telephone solicitations in violation of the regulations prescribed under this subsection. If the court finds that the defendant willfully or knowingly violated the regulations prescribed under this subsection, the court may, in its discretion, increase the amount of the award to an amount equal to not more than 3 times the amount available under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
Sounds to us like it might be a lot of fun to file a lawsuit in small claims court if you can prove that the telemarketer contacted you more than once in 12 months. You could get your phone records from the phone company and start recording your calls.
Here’s some information about small claims court and how to use it.
Anyone tried this? Let us know what happened! tips@consumerist.com
Caveat Emptor Blog
Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 [Wikipedia]
§ 227. Restrictions on use of telephone equipment [ Cornell University Law School]
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@: I keep getting this one too and now they call on an unlisted number. Anyone got any advice for that?
@kingofmars: *69 them and it’ll give you the number
Just tried it. “I’m sorry, the call cannot be completed as dialed. CA 04 GN”
The cell had displayed (503) 468-5002 when they called so I thought your *69 would work, but it didn’t (even with a valid number)
Does anyone know what the rules are about a collection agency calling a business? I’m a manager of department with about 70 guys who work in the field – There’s only a few of us in the office, so I help answer incoming calls when the secretary is not at her desk. At least 5 times a week we get collection agency calls for these field employees.
The guys can’t be reached at the office, they are in the field and have cell phones and radios. We don’t pass on their cell phone numbers OR take messages for collection agencies.
We tell them repeatedly that this is a business and that they need to call the person at home, but they continue to call. I have stated “This is a place of business, and I’m asking you to take this number of your list and do not call here.”
They usually respond by telling me that the person they are trying to reach is the only person who can ask that the number be removed. That’s got to be B.S. right?
We KNOW it’s a collection agency because when they I ask who is calling, they say something vague like “It’s Sheila from Oregon.” I then ask the nature of the call and they get uppity and say “it’s personal”. I tell them that the employee cannot take personal calls at work, please call them at home.
A number of them have asked to speak to “my supervisor”
After telling them not to call here anymore (again) I either flat out hang up on them or I say “one moment while I put you through to a supervisor” and then transfer them in the customer service queue to waste their time.
Any ideas?
Keep an air horn by the phone.
My family lives in military housing and my husband is fond of telling telemarketers that they are calling a military installation and if they call again they will be reported for harassing a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and have to deal with the U.S. Government. It’s total B.S. but these people are so stupid it usually works.
I currently have Dish Network, and I get repeated calls from them asking me to either change my plan or upgrade it. Moreover, the calls originate in foreign countries. So how do I deal with them?
Switch to DirecTV