| Comment Number: | OL-102381 |
| Received: | 11/27/2004 10:02:34 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Jennette Driscoll |
| State: | DE |
| Subject: | Trade Regulation Rule on Telemarketing Sales |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Please do not open any loopholes in the Telemarketing Sales Rule allowing prerecorded messages to assail innocent consumers who have committed only the "crime" of owning a telephone. I subscribe to telephone service for my own use and convenience, not for the convenience of any form of solicitor. I consider unsolicited sales calls, even prerecorded, to be an unwelcome intrusion into my home and my time with my family. If anything, any amendments to this rule should be to tighten it, not create loopholes. The state of no solicitation ought to be the default choice, only breached if people "opt in" to telemarketing, rather than forcing people to opt out. However, since the current state of affairs requires us to opt out, at least honor that choice. I signed up for the do not call registry precisely because I do not wish to be the recipient of telephone solicitation. Therefore, it is of no benefit to any telemarketer to contact me, because I will not only not buy anything from them, but I will make an effort to boycott their products entirely. This becomes a burden to the company and to myself and my family. If anything, prerecorded messages are more unwelcome than those made by a live operator; you can cut off a person and tell them not to call back. Offering a loophole in this wonderful piece of legislation will render it nearly useless, and will definitely reflect the exact opposite of the will of the people. Listen to the people of America, not greedy corporate interests. Again, unsolicited telemarketing calls are considered an unwelcome intrusion into my home. They do not capture my business. If anything, an onslaught of telemarketing calls would lead me to consider cancelling my residential phone line altogether. If any changes are made, let them only be to further tighten this piece of legislation, forcing telemarketers to only legally call those who specifically request that they be solicited. Do not violate the peace of my home. Thank you.