| Comment Number: | OL-104055 |
| Received: | 11/28/2004 8:52:25 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Michael Vinegra |
| State: | NJ |
| Subject: | Trade Regulation Rule on Telemarketing Sales |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I opted onto the Do-Not-Call list for a reason, I do not want to be called. By signing onto the do-not-call list, as well as using a commercially available telemarketer "zapping" device, I have reduced my telemarketing from 10-15 calls a day down to 2-3 calls a day. I want to eliminate unwanted telephone solicitations from my life! This is the worst of all possible amendments. Automated phone spam is already the most abusive, as it usually grabs the phone line and won't let go until it's done with its spiel. This wastes my time if I happen to answer the line, and wastes the limited space on my answering machine tape if it picks up. Automated phone spam also allows companies to abuse phone lists by automating phone calling tasks, which enables them to blitz more phone numbers at the same time without the cost of hiring more people to man the phones. Plus in my experience, automated phone spam is the MOST likely to not have a valid way to get off the list. Oh, sure, it may give you an 800 number to call, but that's likely to reach some convoluted voicemail system that never gets you anywhere. And the concept of "prior contact" has already been stretched to mean "and everyone our company ever shares marketing information with". Not only that, but the upshot WILL be that telemarketers uniformly go to an automated model (much cheaper for them, much more annoying for us). PLEASE don't let this go through. KEEP "Do Not Call" a REAL prohibition against junk calls.