Make the telemarketers pay

[sloth2946]

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/02/suing_telemarke.html

Great idea. Might just pursue it with a few nags.

[jholland]

I wonder if there's any law like that here in Canada.....time to do some reading...damn

[rbrownie]

I will try and find it but there was a guy basically making a living doing this.

He would put his name and phone on all those promotion things and then when they called he would say dont call again. 2 or 3 would usually call back at some point and bingo, money.

He was making like $100,000 a year.

[Botts]

I'd love to do it, but frankly, the DoNotCall list is working well for me...with the exception of the few "authorized" groups that can still call.

[sloth2946]

Originally Posted by rbrownie

I will try and find it but there was a guy basically making a living doing this.

He would put his name and phone on all those promotion things and then when they called he would say dont call again. 2 or 3 would usually call back at some point and bingo, money.

He was making like $100,000 a year.

And it is a judgement, therefore not taxable.

Freaking brilliant.

[kevinsane]

I'm gonna call this guy at 6:00PM and congratulate him!!!!

[Fade2Black]

I'd love to do it, as I get bogged with at least 5 calls a day, many times from the same company, but I doubt this applies to Canada.

[NJDev803]

Originally Posted by kevinsane

I'm gonna call this guy at 6:00PM and congratulate him!!!!

Just in time to interrupt his dinner!

I'm tempted to file claims when I get called now -- it happens a lot. 2 or 3 times and I'll be sporting brand new gear!

[rbrownie]

The thing is you have to be smart about it. You cant just say that they had called.

It is best to record everything. The call when you say do not call me again and then the call when they do. That makes things very easy.

You can route your phone through your computer and do this pretty easily I guess.

[tnickols]

actually the only thing that legally binds them to not call again is saying "take me off your list" They have to listen to this so try it next time and then see if the call back.

[Declyn]

Well as the Tech guy and 'official' DNC list (FTC and State DNC list) dude for my company, i can tell you that the odds of your case even making it to court are going to be pretty low.

let me tell you the easiest way to make money here.

Get on the FTC list, it is FREE! www.donotcall.gov - registration only takes a few moments + a valid email address.

if you live in a state that also has a State handled DNC list, get on that too. that one will more than likely cost you any where from $2 to $15 bucks.

print out and keep the verification emails from these two sources as the DATE you sign up will be important for your bargaining power.

NOTE: each state is different, but the FTC list has a 30 day grace period from the date you signed up until you can 'ding' the telemarketer for calling you.

also print the list of the TYPES of telemarketers that can still call you regardless of you being on the list. typically its charitable organizations, politicians, and banks.

those people you will have to specifically tell them to not call you again. SPECIFICALLY state: 'Please put me on your Do Not Call list.'

Do it nice, do it quietly. 9.9 times out of 10 if some one gets angry the phone number is added to the internal dnc list the moment the call ends.

if you do it nicely, it will just get added by an automated job based on a call result code, or depending on how low tech the company is, just written down and possibly lost.

now that you are on the FTC (Federal Trade Commission btw) and your States DNC list (if applicable) and you are now on the companies internal DNC list, you are set to try and make money with out going to court.

once you get a call after getting on all of these lists, and you are past the grace period for signing up for said DNC lists, you need to write a letter of complaint to the offending company.

more than likely nothing will occur if you have only been called one time. my suggestion is waiting until you have gotten more than one phone call.

in your letter you need to inform them that you are going to file an official complaint to the state and federal agencies.

alot of times, the company will offer you an out of court settlement to not do that.

NO ONE wants the FTC or anyone else to know they even screwed up to begin with let alone pay their own court fees to defend them selves in court.

its cheaper for them to just pay you off to be quiet.

all of that being said MOST companies do their best to abide by all possible DNC lists. its in their best interset to do so really. whats the point in calling some one who took the time to get on a list to not be called? odds of making a sale to that person are pretty low. so why spend the time and effort calling them.

also the AG(attorney general) for their state can shut them down with almost no notice if they get too many complaints on the same company.

one last exception that i forgot to mention - the EBR (existing business relationship) clause!

if you have done business with a company within the last 18 months, they have the right to call you even if you are on the state or FTC list. you have to specifically tell them to not call you again to stop the calls that result from an existing business relationship.

the individual telemarketing companies internal dnc list must be applied to all calls regardless of EBR rules and it takes priority over the FTC and state lists.

also the companies internal dnc list can purge you from their list after being on it for 5 years, FTC drops you after 10 (if i remembercorrectly) and each state has a different length on how long they decide to keep you.

i have had way too much caffine today...(my excuse for any crazy ass typing or spelling)

[PSULion22]

Make sure you are telling people to put you on their DNC list, not asking to be taken off the list. There is a distinct verbal difference between the two. I used to be a caller for MBNA, soliciting credit cards. When a contact would ask to be removed from the list, we would enter a code to have the name removed. However, that only took the name off of that specific product list. For example, if I called Moto about the NHL Visa, and he asked to be removed, his name would come off that list. But, we would still be able to call him about the NAMBLA MasterCard since it's a different product (and one I'm sure he'd take). Since MBNA is buying the lists from the same places, it is likely your name is on more than one call list.

[sloth2946]

Originally Posted by PSULion22

Make sure you are telling people to put you on their DNC list, not asking to be taken off the list. There is a distinct verbal difference between the two. I used to be a caller for MBNA, soliciting credit cards. When a contact would ask to be removed from the list, we would enter a code to have the name removed. However, that only took the name off of that specific product list. For example, if I called Moto about the NHL Visa, and he asked to be removed, his name would come off that list. But, we would still be able to call him about the NAMBLA MasterCard since it's a different product (and one I'm sure he'd take). Since MBNA is buying the lists from the same places, it is likely your name is on more than one call list.

Yes but in the days of the internet you can log the incoming phone numbers, and research them to find out who owns the trunk list. A little back tracking and you can find that multiple companies are using the same call center.

I used to support a predictive dialer system and their telco operations so I have a bit of an understanding of how to back track this stuff.

[Declyn]

definately keep their number for research purposes. i am not entirely sure how well the 'average joe' can do the research on who owns what trunks, but most folks at least know a tech type person that they can get to do the research for them.

basically you want to avoid court. its the rare case where money is awarded to the individual.

that is a big misconception. usually the companies are hit with a fine by which ever agency the complaint was filed with, and the fine can be HUGE, but the money does not go to the person who files the complaint.

the trick is getting them to pay you to NOT file the complaint or take them to court.

BTW just to clarify (if anyone was even wondering..) i hate telemarketing!

i dont even have a home phone, i just use my cell - which telemarketers are not supposed to call.

i dont have a phone at home because there are so many companies that dont have to respect the DNC lists (mostly banks harrassed us) that it was just too frustrating to keep dealing with because they would call and wake my kids up at night.

that lead us to turn the ringer off, which lead us to never having the ringer on... so now we just save $35 a month instead of spending it.

my company works on behalf of news papers across the contry... and most folks dont seem to hate their 'local' paper calling trying to sell a subscription.

at least that is what i tell myself so i can sleep at night