| Comment Number: | OL-104127 |
| Received: | 11/28/2004 10:50:55 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Elstick |
| State: | WV |
| 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 allow telemarketers to leave pre-recorded messages on answering machines. Please protect my right to privacy in my own home by eliminating ALL telemarketing calls (real or prerecorded). It should be apparent by the number of Americans on the DO NOT CALL list that the general public wishes to avoid annoying telemarketing calls in any capacity (human or pre-recorded). I do not understand why the US government continues to allow any telemarketing when it is obvious that the general public finds these calls an invasion of privacy. The only reason telemarketers make any money this way is that some people do not know how to say no thank you without feeling they've been rude to the salesperson on the other end of the phone. The fact that telemarketers are using computers for dialing numbers and now want to leave pre-recorded sales messages tells me that they have stream-lined their operations and that few real working Americans would be affected (i.e. job loss) by prohibiting these calls. I have received these pre-recorded messages and have had to take time out of my busy day to contact the company that left the message and tell them that I am on the DO NOT CALL list so I can avoid these calls in the future. Even if I had left a message on my answering service that I do not wish to have these calls, the pre-recorded message would've been left anyway because it was not a real person listening to my request to be left alone. If the QVC and Home Shopping Network have found success by allowing interested customers to opt-in to sales pitches by watching the program, then why can't telemarketers allow people to opt in to their sales calls? Why must the general public take all the necessary steps opt-out of everything? Isn't it clear that we, the general public, would prefer to be left alone at home? I do not know of ONE person who enjoys rushing to answer the phone only to discover it is a telemarketer. Thank you for this opportunity to speak out against all telemarketing.