You’re in luck! Unless they’re politicians, banks or telephone companies.
And there’s nothing like an updated TSR to bring out the alliterative tendencies of FTC public relations staff. Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC, said today in a statement, “Starting September 1, this bombardment of prerecorded pitches, senseless solicitations, and malicious marketing will be illegal. If consumers think they’re being harassed by robocallers, they need to let us know, and we will go after them.”
Violators face fines of up to $16,000 per call.
We applaud the FTC for the move, but it’s hard to see it making much of a difference on the Orbiting HQ’s phone line. That’s because the FTC has already been surprisingly effective at using the Do Not Call registry to curtail telemarketing calls, and most of the robocalls received by people in the office here are already illegal to do begin with—pitches for time shares and bogus car warranties top the list of such calls.
Click here for the rest.
No, it’s not really Kentucky-centric. But this is good enough news that it warrants mentioning.
6 responses so far ↓
1 bestmid // Aug 29, 2009 at 9:22 am
Crap. Now how will I find guttering?
2 Carter Burger // Aug 30, 2009 at 9:48 am
I have been a Vonage sub for about 7 years now. Never had a problem with robo calls!
3 Curt Morrison // Aug 30, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I just want to go on record to say I was, and am still, against the No-Call List law because it is simply restraint of trade.
I have been a Realtor since 1992 and I can assure you I sold a bunch more houses when I could get on the phone and find people and help them make good decisions. And those calls lead to better lives for people. Sometimes it meant people raising their kids in a 3 bedroom brick home instead of in dilapidated housing projects.
I’m only 1 of about a million Realtors, so consider the amplification of that factor now. And oh, um, the housing market has crashed…I’d like to take a moment to say “I told you so” American people that didn’t want to be inconvenienced. How inconvenient is is it now?
I’m not proposing this was the soul cause of the financial crisis, but think it should get a shout out as a factor so we won’t do stuff like this again.
4 Curt Morrison // Aug 30, 2009 at 1:35 pm
There should only be “is” not “is is”
Soul should be sole.
I misspell when I get excited.
5 Carter Burger // Aug 31, 2009 at 8:03 am
“I have been a Realtor since 1992 and I can assure you I sold a bunch more houses when I could get on the phone and find people and help them make good decisions.”
How many of those people that you cold called later defaulted on their mortgages? And you are saying the housing market crashed because you were NOT able to bother people trying to sell them something they didn’t want/need?
The next time I need a realtor, I know who I’m NOT calling now.
6 Conservative // Aug 31, 2009 at 8:56 am
I just want to go on record to say I was, and am still, against the No-Call List law because it is simply restraint of trade.
And I consider calls of the type you made to be an invasion of my privacy. And if the right to privacy can be construed to cover abortion on demand, surely it covers people choosing not to be bothered by cretins like you interrupting their dinners to sell them something they haven’t expressed an interest in. Unfortunately the law is a toothless tiger, because I reported an unwanted telemarketer to Little Jackie Conway’s office a month ago, I got a form letter in return and the asshole is still calling 6 days a week and leaving the same pre-recorded message on my answering machine.
Speaking of ferocious felines, I have finally decided which “lion” Teddy Chappaquiddick Kennedy was in the Senate. He was Simba’s evil uncle Scar.
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