Outlaw Telemarketing in the United States
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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A few years ago as I sat by my father’s deathbed in the hospital, the phone on his bedside table rang. I quickly answered it, supposing it to be family inquiring as to his condition. It wasn’t. It was a TELEMARKETER!
I must admit to using all the “Sunday School Language” I knew -- and even made some up -- to spew all over that SOB on the other end of the line -- but, of course, it did no good, whatsoever.
When the FTC began their “Do Not Call” lists, (The National Do Not Call Registry) I was as close to the front of the line as time and distance would allow. And I have renewed my listing, as required, at the proper time ever since.
For a few months, the telemarketer calls to my phones dropped off. They NEVER completely stopped -- and now they are aggravating the hell out of me again, every evening. I can almost set my clocks by the damnable calls.
It’s time to make the law tougher. There are too many loopholes. They must be closed. In fact, I would support a federal law making telemarketing illegal within the United States!
Frankly, I don’t care if it IS a charity calling. They are invading my privacy, unbidden, and that is wrong and I’m ticked off before I ever lift the receiver.
Is there anything more annoying than a sales pitch at dinnertime, or at bedtime, or heck, anytime, for that matter, in your own home!
As I said above, I’d like to see telemarketing completely outlawed by the US government. If the feds don’t want to touch it, then the individual states should. In fact, they MUST.
Is there the possibility of having a phone filter similar to a Spam filter on the computer? The owner inputs numbers into an “approved list” and only incoming calls from those “approved” numbers will ever ring the owners phone, period.
Does such a device exist? If not -- why not? It would sell like hotcakes!
In the meantime I’m still going to continue to be surly to telemarketers.
We need to put pressure on our respective state’s Attorneys General to clamp down on telemarketing laws in our own states. A number of states deferred to the federal government for a law to control the telemarketers.
If the Obama Administration REALLY wanted to do something that was actually helpful to the American people, and would truly be appreciated by the American people, then they would push for a bill in Congress to outlaw Telemarketing within the US. But don't hold your breath!
I am tired of being hounded, in my own home, by anyone seeking to sell me goods and services I have no inclination to buy. Had I, I would have gone to a local merchant and made the transaction.
If there are any two things I hate, telemarketing is both of them!
J. D. Longstreet
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**************A few years ago as I sat by my father’s deathbed in the hospital, the phone on his bedside table rang. I quickly answered it, supposing it to be family inquiring as to his condition. It wasn’t. It was a TELEMARKETER!
I must admit to using all the “Sunday School Language” I knew -- and even made some up -- to spew all over that SOB on the other end of the line -- but, of course, it did no good, whatsoever.
When the FTC began their “Do Not Call” lists, (The National Do Not Call Registry) I was as close to the front of the line as time and distance would allow. And I have renewed my listing, as required, at the proper time ever since.
For a few months, the telemarketer calls to my phones dropped off. They NEVER completely stopped -- and now they are aggravating the hell out of me again, every evening. I can almost set my clocks by the damnable calls.
It’s time to make the law tougher. There are too many loopholes. They must be closed. In fact, I would support a federal law making telemarketing illegal within the United States!
Frankly, I don’t care if it IS a charity calling. They are invading my privacy, unbidden, and that is wrong and I’m ticked off before I ever lift the receiver.
Is there anything more annoying than a sales pitch at dinnertime, or at bedtime, or heck, anytime, for that matter, in your own home!
As I said above, I’d like to see telemarketing completely outlawed by the US government. If the feds don’t want to touch it, then the individual states should. In fact, they MUST.
Is there the possibility of having a phone filter similar to a Spam filter on the computer? The owner inputs numbers into an “approved list” and only incoming calls from those “approved” numbers will ever ring the owners phone, period.
Does such a device exist? If not -- why not? It would sell like hotcakes!
In the meantime I’m still going to continue to be surly to telemarketers.
We need to put pressure on our respective state’s Attorneys General to clamp down on telemarketing laws in our own states. A number of states deferred to the federal government for a law to control the telemarketers.
If the Obama Administration REALLY wanted to do something that was actually helpful to the American people, and would truly be appreciated by the American people, then they would push for a bill in Congress to outlaw Telemarketing within the US. But don't hold your breath!
I am tired of being hounded, in my own home, by anyone seeking to sell me goods and services I have no inclination to buy. Had I, I would have gone to a local merchant and made the transaction.
If there are any two things I hate, telemarketing is both of them!
J. D. Longstreet
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JD, that attitude is one of major downfalls of the US today. "I don't like it so it should be banned for everybody." I had an allergic reaction to peanuts so they should be banned from the US. Criminals used a handgun to commit a crime so guns should be outlawed.
ReplyDeleteThere are over 4 million US citizens employed in the contact center industry. That's more teachers. That's more than truck drivers. Obviously someone is buying or those jobs wouldn't exist now would they?
But your solution is to ban anything you dislike; to put more people out of work during the worst economic conditions since the great depression AND to increase the size of the government to enforce those actions - all because you're too dang lazy to use Caller ID or an answer machine to screen the calls. And by the way, there are services to block unknown calls if you would get off your soap box long enough to look.
The telemarketing call your father's hospital room was a violation of law. Since your number is on the Do-Not-Call list, unsolicited sales calls to your home are a violation of law. Those were the acts of criminals using the telephone to run their scams. Having said that, banning all business by phone makes as much sense as banning guns.
Talk about turning us into a Socialist country! Americans need to quit trying to take the easy road by asking the government to do everything for them. We can't afford any more government or any fewer jobs. Grow some hair and deal with it.
Get a sports or police whistle and blow hard and continuously when the telemarketer calls.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. I have my own company and telemarketers helped a lot.
ReplyDelete