| Comment Number: | OL-105818 |
| Received: | 12/4/2004 9:55:43 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Rathofer |
| State: | UT |
| 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 have some suggestions regarding the opening of a loophole in the Do Not Call Registry. If you decide to allow recorded telemarketing (telephone spam) by Voice Mail Broadcasting Corporation or any and all other telephone marketing companies then the telemarketers must be required to have prior written permission from the consumers to whom they wish to place marketing calls. You must allow the consumers easy access to the mailing address and telephone number of the marketing companies. The consumer should be allowed access to this information for billing purposes so that we may bill the telemarketing companies for the use of our personal telephone equipment. The consumer must be allowed to bill a minimum of $20.00 per call received on residence equipment. If a telephone spammer calls more than twice in a 30 day period an additional amount not less than $100.00 may be billed to the offending company by the consumer. If the telephone spam calls are made to a business the minimum fees double. It is time for the Federal Trade Commission to recognize that privacy in ones home is a concern for all of us. Consumers have purchased the equipment and service for our personal use. Businesses have purchased equipment, service and have spent thousands and in the case of large companies millions of dollars to train staff members in the use of this equipment and have not spent money for someone to answer the phone for a prerecorded telephone sales pitch. This is an invasion of privacy for the consumer and is a waste of time and money for the businessperson and company. How many safeguards do we consumers have to install before we feel safe at home. If you allow this loophole to be opened I will begin interviewing all companies with whom I do business about my privacy issues. Maybe consumers will have to require the businesses to fill out an application prior to being allowed access to our personal information including telephone numbers. I have already made requests of the businesses I work with to not call me with marketing information. I can find another business or service provider who will respect my privacy if one business does not. This will affect every consumer with a telephone that is 103,000,000 households, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. This will affect 112,000,000 residential telephone lines. Opening this loophole in the Do Not Call Registry will in fact have great and lasting effect in a very negative way.