| Comment Number: | 525547-00319 |
| Received: | 12/8/2006 6:51:08 AM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Andrew Griffiths |
| State: | CA |
| Subject: | Telemarketing Sales Rule |
| Title: | Request for Public Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I regard ALL telemarketing calls as a highly abusive intrusion into my privacy. They are also an annoyance as I often have to run for the 'phone when I get a call or interrupt something I am doing. This is fine when it's from someone with whom I have a relationship - as far as I'm concerned this means a PERSONAL relationship. I am insulted by the notion that companies claim a relationship with me as a pretext to allow them to call. I believe that the DO NOT CALL program should go far farther insasmuch as I would like to specify which companies can call me. For example, I am OK with my credit card company calling me about transactions on my account (but not marketing services) or an airline calling about issues concerning a ticket. The notion that companies can claim a relationship with me just because I've had a transaction with them in the past is ridiculous and grossly encroaches on my personal liberties I recommend the most extreme measures possible to constrain telemarketing - it should also be applied to politicians. Fundamentally, once anyone as signed up on the DO-NOT-CALL list, everything should be opt-in only. Lastly, if companies believe that they have the right to intrude into my home, they should be required to provide the home numbers and personal addresses of all top executives so that consumers who object to their company's telemarketing calls can call them at home. Perhaps we could record messages which are then forwarded automatically to the executives home telephone numbers. Such a "quid pro quo" would appropriately eradicate telemarketing which needs to be considered as a bacterium that has invaded our society rather than an industry. As a practical matter, I recommend that these provisions apply only to companies that make more than 1000 calls per month and/or these calls are made using automatic dialers drawing numbers from a database; it's important to avoid the law of unintended consequences - e.g. local businesses mau have legitimate reasons to call me without having been pre-registered as an allowed caller to my household. Sincerely, Andrew Griffiths