"If you don't want to get contacted if somebody wins, then don't put your name in it. That was just such a girl thing to do. Wimp," the telemarketer yelled.

Whited said he called the company to complain, but not much happened.

"Someone that I spoke with said that it might have been her 400th hang up and she was just frustrated herself but that's not my fault," Whited said

We think her tirade seems pretty gentle, considering the things we can imagine someone saying, but then again our brains have been seared by the vulgarity of the Internet.

And as for the telemarketer, if all Whited did was hang up on her then we're surprised she'd take it so hard. She should read some of the things our commenters say they've said/done to telemarketers.

"Angry telemarketer calls back, berates man after he hangs up" [WIS News 10] (Thanks to Megan!)

Leverage Connections will call you with a recorded message that says they're calling about your credit card, and to push 1. If you fall for that and push the button, you're connected to a commission-only employee who's been told to hang up immediately at the first sign of critical thinking. This includes trying to finish the sentence, "Do not call me again."

If you're the gullible type, however, they'll keep you on the phone and tell you how they can lower your credit card rate... for a fee. What they do, it turns out, is contact the credit card company and ask for a lower rate on your behalf.

Yes, this is the same thing you can do on your own. They'll charge you around $1000-1500 for this service.

A reader wrote to us,

I have received 2-3 calls a week for over a year now. I have filed numerous, useless, complaints with the FTC, the Florida AG's office, the California AG's office ( I reside in CA) and the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. All to no avail. This company called me yet again this morning.

A person who claims to have worked for them says they hire off of CraigsList and "magic marker signs" around town. The interview consists of being asked if you can sell, and if you say yes you're put on the phone (and told to hang up if the people on the other end start asking questions). He points out, "Thus, anyone could have access to your private information." He also says,

I understand they're an automated system that will call anyone and everyone, mostly elderly, and even those on the "do not call list." We just hung up on everyone who did not say yes and hitting the #2 does nothing. There is nothing to stop the calls. We just hang up on any person who didn't sound like they were interested.

Another person on the same forum says he contacted Leverage Communications via their toll free number:

I spoke to "Eli" who told me that they do not have to abide by DoNotCall regulations because they only leave a message - and by selecting the option you are actually calling them. He claims they are working on behalf of the major credit card companies.

...They have been calling me up to three times a week for the past year.

So will their calls dry up come December 1st, 2008? We doubt it, but they'll be in direct violation of the telemarketing sales rule if their recorded messages don't lead off with a working option to end calls from their company. Make sure you take careful notes of when they call and whether or not they offer an automated option to get off the list, and file a complaint with the FTC if you need to.

(Thanks to Michael!)
(Photo of telephone: Getty)

Of course, there are still exceptions.

Health care-related calls subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 are still allowed, as are charitable fundraising robocalls made to members of the nonprofit charitable organization for which the call is placed, or to people who previously donated to it. The fundraising calls must still include an automated opt-out, however.

The strict limits won't stop robocalls from political campaigns, either."Political calls are not placed for the purpose of inducing purchases of goods or services, and therefore are not 'telemarketing' within the meaning of the TSR," the FTC notes in a footnote of the amendment.

If you feel plagued by telemarketers, try the tips in our past posts for getting them to stop calling your, or for dealing with them effectively when they keep doing it.

"FTC all but bans robocalls" [CNET] (Thanks to Jason!)

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]
(Photo: amyadoyzie )

Remember to sign up with the National Do Not Call Registry if you haven't already. They'll block up to three phone numbers for you, including cellular numbers. But don't expect the Do Not Call registry to catch all telephone spam:

Because of limitations in the jurisdiction of the FTC and FCC, calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls.

You should also be aware that there are two easy ways for companies to get around the registry:

• If you buy something from a company, they can contact you for 18 months after the transaction unless you explicitly tell them not to—and if you tell them not to, they have to comply or face a fine of up to $11,000.
• If you simply make an inquiry or submit an application to a company, they can contact you for 3 months after the initial contact (again, unless you explicitly tell them not to).

So what happens if you've told a company not to call and they do anyway? If you've been on the Do Not Call registry for at least 31 days, visit their website to file a complaint. If you're not in the registry but you asked the company not to call you and they did anyway, check out the FTC Complaint Assistant, which will ask you a series of questions and eventually help you submit a telemarketing-related complaint.

"When AT&T won't stop calling" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
(Photo: Getty)

Brian says:

The recorded message said I urgently need to talk to someone about my credit card. It then assured me that there was no problem with my accounts, but I need to talk to someone about lowering my interest rates. All very serious business. It then said my options were to press 1 for a rep or 2 to be removed.

My phone number has been on the do not call registry for years. I've tried telling them that before, and they just hang up. So this time, I asked for information about the company. The rep said I had to join their services to get that. So I asked for a manager. The rep said "ok" then hung up on me. The only information I have now is the phone number, and a company name of "Card Services" or "Card Service".

Can you clarify what rules they've broken (auto-dialers, pre recorded messages, grossly misleading messages)? What can I do better to get myself removed from their call lists? Pressing 2, threatening with the do not call registry stuff, etc doesn't work.

Well, without knowing which company is calling you, its not possible for us to tell you for sure which rules they've broken. Basically the rule is this: If a company doesn't have a business relationship with you, it can't call you. If it does have a business relationship with you it can call you, unless you tell it not to — at which point it has to stop calling or face a fine of up to $11,000 per call. It doesn't sound like this outfit is selling anything legit — (What kind of company makes you sign up before they tell you what you've bought?) So it's definitely time to start reporting them.

First, since you're on the "Do Not Call" list, you should report them. You can do that here.

Secondly, you could contact your state's attorney general or department of consumer affairs to report a possible scam. If your attorney general has a "fraud hotline" you can call it and see if they are interested. It's possible that other consumers like yourself have reported the same company, particularly if they are as shady as you say they are.

Unfortunately, unless you're willing to take the time to figure out who exactly is calling you and file a lawsuit against them, that's about all you can do.

Not a huge thing in the big scheme of life, but I wanted to make you guys aware of something Domino's Pizza started doing recently.

They will call you weekly (usually 1-3 times a week) and inform you of their weekly specials. They will do this to cellular phones, work numbers, anywhere. In short, they use their customer list as a free list of people to spam with weekly specials.

Again, this isnt a crime against man and nature but having your cellular phone hammered by unsolicited calls from the local pizza joint is a bit unsettling and uncalled for.

Readers beware. When you call in to order a Domino's pizza, you are adding yourself to a list of people to-be-hounded.

The National Do Not Call list is obviously ignored, as this number has been registered there for months.

Sadly, Ron, the Do Not Call list doesn't apply here unless you specifically ask Domino's not to call you. By purchasing something (pizza), you established a business relationship with the company. They are allowed to call you for 18 months after your last purchase or delivery, unless you ask them not to call again. In that case, they must honor your request not to call. If they subsequently call you again, they may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.

Every time you order a pizza, however, you're restarting the whole business relationship clock again. Good luck.

(Photo: Ben Popken )

From MailMovesAmerica.org:

To many consumers and policymakers, Do Not Mail bills may sound like an idea whose time has come. However, learning even a little about advertising mail and direct marketing quickly reveals the many problems that Do Not Mail registries would create.

Advertising mail is a large and diverse economic engine creating $686 billion of economic activity annually that would be adversely affected by even just one bill becoming law. Thousands of jobs are dependent on advertising mail and direct marketing – from copywriters in ad agencies to rural letter carriers in remote corners of a sparsely populated state.

Get on over there and tell them how much you totally freaking love junk mail!

MailMovesAmerica.org

She recently sent us the Executive Email Carpet Bomb she lobbed towards Dell's headquarters:

To: tips@consumerist.com
Cc: michael_dell@dell.com, donald_carty@dell.com, ronald_garriques@dell.com, michael_cannon@dell.com, mark_jarvis@dell.com, lawrence_tu@dell.com, susan_sheskey@dell.com, andrew_esparza@dell.com, paul_bell@dell.com, stephen_felice@dell.com, david_marmonti@dell.com, brad_anderson@dell.com, jeffrey_clarke@dell.com, martin_garvin@dell.com, alex_gruzen@dell.com, joan_hooper@dell.com, william_gray@dell.com

Good Morning,
This is my last resort. I am writing today to share with you a problem that has become so excessive over the last eight months that I no longer know what to do with it. I have given up the idea of ever having a Dell hassle-free life so I am just trying to live mine by minimizing their interruptions in my day to day life. Here is my story:

I am not a Dell customer. I DO NOT OWN ANY DELL PRODUCTS (AND I NEVER WILL). I got a new job last July and for my job I inherited a very important phone number that all of my clients have used for the past seven years. I work for an extremely small non-profit (i.e. I am the only paid employee) and I work with youth and their families. I have 30 families who move around often and the only way we keep in contact is through this stable phone number so changing my number was not and option.

In August 2007 I started receiving calls from the Dell collection center in India. The calls were not for me or my job, they were for the man who previously had my job and phone number. He linked his personal Dell account to his then work phone number. The first ten times Dell called I gave them the previous employee's new phone number and asked them to remove my number from that account as it was no longer current... But the calls kept coming....

Steps I have taken to avoid hearing from Dell:

1) I notified the person they were trying to reach. I had him call and change his contact information. He did that and Dell assured him the problem was solved and that they would not call me again. But the calls kept coming...

2) I had 6 lengthy conversations with supervisors at the Dell Call Center in India. Sometimes they would give me a badge number, recording ID, their name and one time in a thick Indian accent I was told I was speaking with a "Michelle Woodward" for the record. Dell promised the problem was solved and that they would not call me again. But the calls kept coming...

3) I called the customer service line on Dell's website. Since I am not a Dell customer and I don't even know what item they want me to pay for that I do not own, it was a long and frustrating call. In the end Dell assured me the problem was solved and that they would not call me again. But the calls kept coming...

Now, 8 months later, Dell calls my work phone up to three times daily. I finally bought a new phone (but I can't change the number because I need it to do my job) just so I could set it to ring silently when Dell calls. I try to ignore the calls the best I can, but recently the calls have started coming from local DC numbers as well as the Indian 800 number. I am sometimes fooled into answering the local calls only to find that I am again on the phone with a company where I am not a customer.

Now I understand that people must lie and give fake phone numbers to dodge paying for their stuff. I am sympathetic to a point about how hard it must be to streamline a system. But I have done everything in my power to point Dell in the right direction, but they refuse to take my number out of the system. Dell you don't want me. Please leave me alone.

Finally someone suggested that I write to consumerist. I saw the Dell executive emails on your site, so I will be CCing this email to them as well. All of them. We will see if they respond. Maybe I will start calling them three times a day.

Sincerely,
Dell's used up call girl
Kat

Except as provided in section 1692b of this title, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than the consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

(Photo: publicprivate)

On Friday, February 15, 2008, the President signed into law:

H.R. 3541, the "Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007," which prohibits the automatic removal of telephone numbers registered on the Federal "do-not-call" registry; and

S. 781, the "Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007," which extends permanently the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to charge fees to telemarketers required to access the Federal "do-not-call" registry and specifies the fees to be charged.

For anyone who doubts the list's usefullness, read one Ars Tech editor's experience:

My family recently moved into a new home, and with it, we received a new phone number (I didn't want a new one, but in Massachusetts they can be strict about towns and their exchanges). At our old house we had been covered by the DNCR, but at the new home, we weren't because we had a new number. It took one week, at most, before the unsolicited calls started. When they started, they were frequent and annoying. Life "off" the DNCR was horrible.

After about another week of putting up with it (it just sat on a long "to do list" as we attended to other move-in crises), we finally got around to signing up our new number, and even though the Registry gives ample time for opt-out information to be followed by telemarketers, in reality we were spam-call-free within a week. In short, the DNCR works, it's fast, and telemarketers are by and large obeying it when expected.

Both measures passed the House on a voice vote and cleared the Senate by unanimous consent.

Statement by the Press Secretary [The White House]
Do Not Call Registry saved from mandatory reset [Ars Technica]
PREVIOUSLY:
Liveblogging The Do Not Call Improvement Act and CPSC Reform Act Committee Markups
FTC Vows Not To Expire Numbers From The Do Not Call List
Should Do Not Call List Registrations Last Forever?
(Photo: Getty)

The common-sense measure will make Do Not Call List registrations permanent, preventing them from expiring after five years. Without Congressman Doyle's bill, 50 million numbers could fall from the list in 2008. The House has already passed the measure, and Senators are expected to give their assent when they return from a holiday recess free from the interruptions of telemarketers.

Consumerist is the first Gawker blog to appear in the Congressional Record.

The Congressional Record [Government Printing Office]
PREVIOUSLY:
Liveblogging The Do Not Call Improvement Act and CPSC Reform Act Committee Markups
FTC Vows Not To Expire Numbers From The Do Not Call List
Should Do Not Call List Registrations Last Forever?

Now Dish Network calls me LITERALLY every day trying to get me to sign up again. I explain my situation every time and they treat me with disgust, as if I am making up some elaborate story because I don't have the guts to tell them I hate their service.

The irony is, I loved Dish Network service. Everything about the customer experience has been positive except this part. I probably would sign up again next time I'm renting my own place, but not if these calls keep coming in. I have told them two or three times to stop calling me but I keep getting the calls. I usually ignore them now since I can see the number on my cell phone when they call and I know the number they call from by heart now, but it's still annoying.

Thanks for a great website,

Will

If a consumer asks a company not to call, the company may not call, even if there is an established business relationship. Indeed, a company may not call a consumer - regardless of whether the consumer's number is on the registry - if the consumer has asked to be put on the company's own do not call list.

(Photo:diaper)

The FTC's promise, after the jump.

The Commission adopted the five-year re-registration requirement based on the information it had in 2003. Since then, several changes have taken place. First, changes in the marketplace, including increased usage of cell phones and increased popularity of telephone number portability, may have had an impact on data underlying the 2003 rulemaking proceeding. Second, the legal landscape has become clearer because we have more information about how courts view consumers' privacy in this context. Third, the Registry has been implemented successfully for nearly 5 years, and has included a scrubbing program through which telephone numbers that have been disconnected and reassigned are purged from the Registry on a monthly basis. Fourth, the Registry has enjoyed unprecedented popularity and helped enhance the privacy of the American public in a tangible way.

As a result of these changes, the Commission now commits that it will not drop any telephone numbers from the Registry based on the five-year expiration period pending final Congressional or agency action on whether to make registration permanent. The Commission will continue its robust efforts to maintain the Registry's accuracy and ensuring the continued success of the Do Not Call program.

The FTC's announcement is an undeniable victory for consumers, one that will hopefully push Congress to make Do Not Call registrations permanent.

S. 2096 [GovTrack]
H.R. 3541 [GovTrack]
Write Your Senator
Write Your Representative
PREVIOUSLY: How To Write To Congress
Should Do Not Call List Registrations Last Forever?
(Photo: Eduardo Mendes (Smile=P))

The popularity of the list confirms that few people want to have their dinner or other personal time interrupted to deal with a telemarketer intent on selling something. The argument that people can just not answer the phone doesn't work for everyone. Those with loved ones overseas or with family members who need special care are usually unwilling to risk missing a call that might bring critical or time-sensitive information.

The FTC insists that re-registering is incredibly easy to do and no doubt that's true, but it's beside the point. Many people simply won't remember to do it and will be rudely jarred into logging on to the Web site or calling the toll-free number to add their numbers back to the list by getting a barrage of unwanted calls.

We support permanent Do Not Call listings even though they fall short of our ideal: telemarketing should be limited to those who explicitly opt-in.

Registration on Do Not Call list should be permanent [Asheville Citizen-Times]
S. 2096 [GovTrack]
H.R. 3541 [GovTrack]
Write Your Senator
Write Your Representative
PREVIOUSLY: How To Write To Congress
Mark Your Calendars: Do Not Call List Numbers Start Expiring In June 2008
(AP Photo/Wally Santana)

*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

PREVIOUSLY: DirecTV Calls Customer On Do-Not-Call List To Ask If They Want To Hear A Sales Pitch Anyway
(Photo: blatch)

If you signed up in June 2003, your name will drop off of the list in June 2008 if you don't renew it. The good news is that it's not exactly difficult to do:

"It is incredibly quick and easy to do," Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, said in an interview with The Associated Press this week. "It was so easy for people to sign up in the first instance. It will be just as easy for them to re-up."

Telemarketers: they have your number [CNNMoney](Thanks, B N!)

"If you want a telemarketer to stop calling you, do not say "Quit calling me" or "Don't call me again." In some companies, Reps are informed under strict guidelines to only delete records if the customer specifically requests they do so. Telemarketers are only required to put you on the "Do Not Call" list if you SPECIFICALLY request to be put on it. Be clear about this and ask for written documentation to be mailed to you if they have your mailing address, but don't provide it to them if they do not."

Furthermore, if you're on the National Do Not Call list, you can report the infraction to the FCC here. An important caveat is this technique will only work for non-skeezy, non-fly-by-night telemarketing operations.

(Photo: Getty)

Bluegreen says it has set up hundreds of similar kiosks in malls and other public venues across the country. Between the kiosks and its Internet marketing efforts, the Boca Raton (Fla.) company estimates it rakes in as many as 4.5 million "leads" each year, which it and more than a dozen of its affiliates use for telemarketing. David Bidgood, Bluegreen's senior vice-president of national sales and marketing, takes umbrage at any suggestion that his company is deceiving consumers with the sweepstakes. "We're doing [the sweepstakes] to try and make phone calls," he says. "[The fine print] is there. They should read it, but most people don't."

Congress is preparing to reauthorize the Do-Not-Call List, presenting the perfect opportunity to close the loophole with an easy and reasonable fix. As suggested by the AARP, the standard of "established business relationship,"should be changed to "ongoing business relationship." Problem solved.

Skirting the Do Not Call Registry [BusinessWeek]
(Photo: Getty Images)

The Committee will hear from two panels. The first will spotlight the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, while the second will feature an assortment of interested parties, including AARP, the Direct Marketing Association, Equifax, and the Assistant Attorney General of Iowa.

Keep hitting refresh for up-to-the-minute analysis and the Senator Steven's meme watch!
(AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)

2:30: Looks like we'll be starting late. Again.
2:36: Here we go! Use this handy video feed to peer into room 253, the Senate Commerce Committee's preferred hearing room in the Russell Senate office building.

2:37: Mark Pryor (D-AR), the eighth-ranking Democrat is chairing the meeting. Interesting choice.
2:38: He's getting right to it, while stressing that other Senators may soon be joining. Don't worry, Senator, you're doing great!
2:39: The plan: "We'll do panel one, first; then, we'll get to panel two." Tell us more!
2:39: We're wasting no time today - Lydia Parnes of the FTC is starting her opening statement.
2:40: The FTC has retrieved $500 million from telemarketing violators? That's a much, much higher number than we've heard before.
2:41: Everyone loves the Do Not Call List, especially the FTC, which has gleaned $17.4 million in fees from Do Not Call violations.
2:42: And we're onto questions already. Wow, everyone's moving so quickly.
2:43: Pryor wants to know how Congress can give the Do Not Call a "New and Improved!" stamp.
2:44: Apparently, not much needs to be done, everyone loves and respects the Do Not Call list.
2:45: The FTC doesn't think telemarketing calls to cellphones are a problem because auto-dialers are banned from calling any cellphone number. But sure, if you want, go ahead and register your number.
2:47: On Thursday, the Committee is going to markup the bill reauthorizing the Do Not Call list.
2:48: The FTC wants the reauthorization to statutorily set the fees for accessing the Do Not Call list, moving the Commission away from its annual process of setting the fee through a rule.
2:49: The FTC is going to start a consumer education campaign to remind everyone that their Do Not Call registrations eventually expire.
2:50: Pryor wants to know about CROA:
2:50: For a quick primer, the Credit Reporting Organizations Act (CROA) governs how businesses catering to cheapskates can charge for services that would otherwise be provided for free. Services like getting your credit report and disputing inaccurate entries. Among other things, CROA prevents businesses from charging for these services before doing the actual work.
2:51: Only 60 cases have been brought by the FTC, but the number rises to over 100 cases when they factor in joint efforts with other agencies like the FBI.

2:52: The FTC doesn't want to provide any statutory exemptions from CROA because they know the credit repair vultures will find a way to exploit any opening.
2:53: Though credit reporting agencies don't pose much of a risk to consumers. They just don't think they can exempt credit reporting agencies from CROA while still excluding credit repair organizations.
2:54: No new Senators have shown up, so Pryor is going to keep the record open for two weeks so other Senators can submit written questions when they snag a free moment.
2:55: Goodbye, FTC. That was fast. Hello, second panel.
2:56: Richard Johnson from the AARP is reading his opening statement.
2:57: According to AARP, 62% of respondents "still receive more telemarketing calls than they would like." Yeah, so do we, but that doesn't mean the list is broken.
2:58: Oh, good recommendation, AARP. They want to shift the standard for permissible telemarketing calls, which is currently the mere existence of a business relationship, to an ongoing relationship. This would mean that you can't keep getting calls from a business just because you called once to ask for a quote.
3:02: Cue ominous music, Jerry Cerasale of the Direct Marketing Association is talking.
3:03: Not talking, so much as complaining about the fees associated with the Do Not Call list.
3:04: "We believe the fees should cover the cost of running the Do Not Call list," not subsidize other FTC enforcement programs.
3:05: There's a problem with "the hygiene of the list." There are business numbers, cellphone numbers, and other numbers that businesses shouldn't be calling anyway.
3:07: Onto Robin Holland of Equifax. "Let me just say a word about Equifax:" We're great! (paraphrased)
3:08: Wow, this woman is way too enthusiastic to be testifying before Congress.
3:09: Or maybe not, she just doesn't want people to mistake Equifax, a credit reporting organization, with credit repair organizations.
3:10: She wants Congress to carve out an exception for reporting organizations, exactly what the FTC said they don't want to do.
3:11: If Equifax was subject to CROA, you couldn't subscribe to credit monitoring services. "This could drive credit reporting services out of the marketplace." Yeah, right, no more market for credit reporting. Guess we'd just have to stick with our annual credit reports. Poor us.
3:12: Onto Joanne Faulkner representing the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
3:13: She does not like credit repair organizations, which toss 4 million meritless disputes towards credit reporting organizations...
3:14: ...which they have done for over two decades. Damn, extra points to her. She's submitting to the record testimony she gave in 1988 spotlighting the same issue.
3:15: She wants CROA changed so that credit repair organizations can't charge, not until they do the promised work, but until they get the promised results. Not bad. We like this gal's style.
3:16: Onto Steve St. Clair, the Assistant Attorney General of Iowa.
3:17: Law enforcement has, apparently, figured out how to go after perpetrators of credit scams.
3:18: Over 15 years ago, Iowa figured out how tape scammers who targeted senior citizens. How exciting. Tell us more. Preferably in that monotone of yours.

3:20: He's highlighting "demand drafts," where senior citizens are duped into sending a check to a telemarketer.
3:21: Telemarketers then use the routing numbers from the check to draw funds from the senior citizen's account with needed a signature.
3:22: "I see that my time is up."
3:23: Back to Pryor, who's going to break out a few questions.
3:24: We need Senator Stevens to liven up this hearing. We can only guess he's not present because the FBI raided his house yesterday as part of corruption probe.
3:25: Cerasale of the DMA may be able to take his place. He has no problem with acquiring the Do Not Call lists, but AT&T has a $3.5 million contract with the FTC to run the list. This we did not know. The DMA doesn't want the FTC collecting almost $18 million in fees if it only needs $3.5 million. It's just not fair to the businesses.
3:27: Um, interesting idea from... is this the FTC representative? It's Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota! Great story: there was a guy who didn't think shredding his mail was enough to keep his identity safe, so whenever he'd take his dog for a walk, he'd collect the dog sh*t and place it on top of his shredded mail.
3:30: Klobuchar with another great quote: "Identity theft is the gift that keeps on giving."
3:33: She wants to know how the annual credit report is different from the services offered by Equifax. Great question.
3:34: Equifax just monitors your credit and lets you know as soon as there is a change to the report. Eh, sure that can be useful if you think you may have had your identity stolen, but if you rotate your reports throughout the year, you get the same basic thing.
3:34: Another great question from Klobuchar: If I visit your site now, is it easy to find my free report, or am I directed to your paid services?
3:35: Equifax says of course it's easy to find the report! (right, if you know what you're looking for.)
3:36: Joanne Faulkner thinks credit services are useless because they tell you when anything changes on your report, overwhelming consumers who don't need all that extra, useless information.
3:36: Equifax disagrees, "We get thanks from consumers." They think it's good that people check their reports every two seconds. "We have consumers, I talk to them."
3:39: Pryor wants to know more about list builders.
3:40: The Iowa Assistant AG has a great story, which could easily double as a potent bedtime tale. Telemarketers asked people to send in checks in exchange for a small prize (what prize do you pay for?) Consumers would send in the check. Telemarketers would then put the people on a list.
3:47: Senator Thune (R-SD) wants to know how senior citizens who want to receive calls from telemarketers can be convinced "that these are not friendly calls."
3:48: The AARP rep has a message to these elderly folk: "Just hang up!"

3:49: Oh, DMA, you had to jump in here and say that not every piece of mail is fraud. The DMA thinks seniors stay connected with commerce through direct marketing.
3:51: Back to Pryor, who also wants to know how credit monitoring helps consumers. Didn't Senator Klobuchar just ask this question?
3:53: Equifax recommends you check your credit report three or four times per year. Hey, three credit reporting agencies, three chances to get your report for free each year...
3:55: Nobody can figure out how to exempt credit monitoring services without creating a loophole for credit repair agencies.
3:57: Easy pitch from Pryor to Faulker: why is arbitration bad for consumers using credit repair agencies?
3:58: Let us count the ways: they're secretive, they're biased, and they're cost prohibitive.
3:59: Pryor: Are you seeing them in other contracts?
4:00: "They're spreading like the plague!"
4:01: And with that, Pryor adjourns the meeting.

I just got yet ANOTHER call from a third party selling life insurance policies for BoA. Sometime last month, I told them to stop calling me, and that just because I bank with BoA (I had...I terminated that week before last for reasons unrelated to this) doesn't mean they're allowed to keep calling despite my telling them to stop. If I had access to our call records at the moment, I'd list the time, date, and duration of each call, as well as the date I told them to stop.

I quit being amenable on the day they called for the third time before 3pm...

So today, as soon as I heard 'insurance' and 'Bank of America', I said, "Ma'am, allow me to interrupt. I know that you personally probably don't have access to your company's do-not-call list, but I'm on it. What's the proper name of the company for which you're calling, and a corporate contact number?" [Sitel, 304.697.3000; What shows up on called ID is Not Provided, 800.448.2755; when you call that second number, you get a BoA greeting that allows you to opt out of these calls by pressing two.] According to the FCC, telemarketers have to transmit caller ID information:

"If you have caller ID, a telemarketer is required to transmit or display its phone number and, if available, its name or the name and phone number of the company for which it is selling products. The display must include a phone number that you can call during regular business hours to ask that the company no longer call you."

Once she provided me that, I asked for the call center manager's name, and said to her 'and I don't necessarily mean your immediate supervisor. I want whoever heads the call center from which you're calling'. I didn't want her to think that I was going after her, and for her to keep information from me to try and cover her ass.

A Donald Sims got on the phone, named Demi Roseman as the call center supervisor, and said that they at Sitel were calling on behalf of Interaction Insurance Services, 866.879.0179. He was cordial, and although he tried to be wily by spouting off the name and number as quickly as possible, he did repeat both when I asked him to.

I hate Bank of America so much.

Because right now, North Carolina has a relatively awesome attorney general, I'm not only filing with the FCC: I'm filing a complaint with the AGs office. Even if the federal gov't won't do anything with the information I've gathered, Roy Cooper's office will.

I know it's not a 'BoA carbombed my dead grandmother's house' story, but it seems it has been a while since I've seen a post about dealing with wayward telemarketers, so maybe at some point in the future, this will be something you can use.

If anything interesting comes of this, I can either send you an update out of the blue, or wait for a request from yall. I know you're busy. At any rate, with stuff like this, I make the calls at my computer so I can email myself notes on the call immediately.

Lessons learned:

• Telemarketers have to transmit Caller ID
• If you're on the do-not-call-list and they won't stop calling you, ask for the call center supervisor and get the place's name and number. Be persistent and don't let them get away with fast-talking if you can't understand them.
• Use this information to file complaints with the FCC through the Do-Not-Call Service.

See, getting on the do-not-call list is only one-half of fighting unwanted telemarketers. The other half is reporting those who fail to comply.

(Photo: amyadoyzie)

You rush over to DoNotCall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 and eagerly punch in your digits. Sigh. Relief.

Days or even moments later, the calls haven't ceased. Checking back over the website, you find there's a 30-day grace period after registering where it's not illegal for them to keep calling you.

Subsequently, you're found hanging from a rafter with a telephone cord etching a distinctive groove in your neck.

Avoid this tragic series of events and register your number this weekend. It takes two seconds, and is considerably cheaper than buying a new phone cord.

So this is where all that emergency money got appropriated to:

"[Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann] Minner's office says the Department of Homeland Security has placed the hot line numbers on the federal government's Do Not Call Registry, in an attempt to thwart the telemarketers."

Let us know how that works out.

"Telemarketers Tie Up Emergency Phones" [WTOP]