As we’ve shown before, wireless and landline phone companies can do something to provide customers with free and easy-to-use tools to block unwanted automated calls — they just aren’t doing it, even when hundreds of thousands of consumers explicitly ask them to. A new piece of legislation introduced today hopes to compel the telecom providers to finally make it easier for customers to just say no to robocalls. [More]
do not call list
Woman Sues Kohl’s After Receiving Thousands Of Robocalls Intended For Ex-Boyfriend
By 1.22.16
Receive just one phone call meant for someone else and you might chalk it up to a simple misunderstanding. But getting thousands of prerecorded calls for your ex-boyfriend over a more than two-year period and the situation becomes annoying, aggravating, and — according to one Pennsylvania woman — grounds for a lawsuit. [More]
Dish Network Could Pay $24B In Fines For Millions Of Illegal Telemarketing Calls
By 1.21.16
When a company hires a telemarketing contractor, and that company makes telemarketing calls on your behalf, should you be held responsible for what that contractor does? This week, a trial in federal court began against Dish Network, where the feds and four state governments are seeking more than $24 billion in fines against the satellite TV company to resolve accusations that it made illegal calls. [More]
Telemarketer Penalized $3.4M For Scamming Elderly Into Paying For Unwanted Medical Alert Service
By 4.23.15
Two years ago, the Federal Trade Commission shut down a Brooklyn-based telemarketing scheme that bullied elderly consumers into paying for a medical alert service they never ordered or wanted. Now a federal court has hit the telemarketer’s repeat-offender operator with a $3.4 million penalty. [More]
Cemetery Workers Won’t Stop Calling And Asking For Man Whose Ashes Have Been Interred There For 4 Years
By 3.26.15
It’s one thing to be annoyed by telemarketers who just don’t know when to quit. But it’s a hassle that shouldn’t follow you (or your loved ones) into the afterlife. The longtime partner of a man who died of lung cancer in 2010 says though his loved one was cremated and interred at a local cemetery, workers from that same cemetery keep calling the house and asking for the dead man by name. [More]
Telemarketers Accused Of Using Political Robocalls To Pitch Caribbean Cruise Packages
By 3.4.15
While people at various points on the political spectrum may disagree about many topics, one sentiment many of them share is a distaste for prerecorded phone calls from political organizations. Like them or not, they’re generally legal even if the recipient is on the federal Do Not Call list. But when you use a supposedly political telemarketing call to ultimately shill for a cruise line, you’ve crossed over into the dark side. [More]
Demand That Phone Companies Give Consumers Free Tools To Block Robocalls
By 2.17.15
While federal regulations and the Do Not Call list have significantly cut down on some auto-dialed, prerecorded messages, the problem of illegal robocalls still persists, mostly because scammers don’t care if they break the law. There are various technologies that phone companies could use to preempt even more of these calls but most consumers don’t have access to them. [More]
It’s Completely Legal To Spoof Phone Numbers
By 6.21.13
At some point in your life, you’ve probably received a call where the name and/or number that showed up on caller ID was not the actual name/number of the caller. It’s known as spoofing, and many people assume it’s illegal. Those people would be wrong. [More]
No, The Right To Call And Sell You Stuff Is Not Transferable
By 7.8.10
Russell wants to know: if a company cold-calls you to sell you things when you’re part of the federal Do Not Call registry, and insists that the call is totally legal because they’ve “partnered with” a company that you do business with, does that make it okay? No. No, it does not. [More]
FTC Sues Dish Network For Violating Do Not Call List
By 3.25.09
A lawsuit has been filed against Dish Network by the U.S. Justice Department (on behalf of the FTC) alleging that the company violated “Do Not Call” rules by phoning potential customers without their permission.
Give Robocallers A Silent Ringtone And A Funny Name
By 3.16.09
You know those car warranty robocallers calling your cellphone? Of course you do, you hate them. This how reader Eyebrow McGee deals with them, and gets to have a little laugh at the same time:
Who The Hell Are These People Calling My Cellphone About A Car Warranty?
By 3.5.09
We’ve been getting a lot of emails from people saying that a company is using a robocaller to call their cellphones and pretend that their car warranty is expiring. Too bad that some of these readers don’t even have a car. Has happened to you? Do you know who is behind it?
Meet Leverage Connections, King Of The Robocallers
By 8.25.08
Last week we reported that some types of unwanted robocall telemarketing will soon be banned. If you’re on the receiving end of Leverage Connections’ prerecorded harassment—they frequently operate under the generic names “Consumer Services” or “Credit Card Services”—you’ll finally have a way to formally complain to the FTC about them. Why would you want to complain? Because they’re the scammiest, most obnoxious robocall telemarketing company we’ve seen so far—even though what they do is apparently legal.
Hey, How Do I Sue Telemarketers Who Ignore The Do Not Call List?
By 8.14.08
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.
Consumerist In The Congressional Record
By 12.27.07
In a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) thanked The Consumerist for supporting H.R. 3541, The Do Not Call Improvement Act.
