Friday, July 21, 2006
Florida & National Do Not Call List Scams
This is a personal annoyance Shannon and I have experienced more and more of lately. About a year ago we put our home phone number on the Florida Do Not Call Program list. This is a list of telephone numbers that telemarketers are not allowed to call. If a telemarketer calls a number on the do not call list then there are penalties. Now there are a few other things you should know about this list, it's not free (I paid $10 to have my home phone added to the list) and it's a program run by the Florida Division of Consumer Services (meaning each state has it's own stance on the program and this isn't a national program).
On to the annoying behavior. Now I know we all have to make a buck and there are those less fortunate than myself that have to sit in a call center making hundreds of calls a day. That's definitely not something I'd ever want to do and I can't imagine any of the people doing that ever aspired to be an outbound cold-caller. On the other hand, the companies operating these call centers are often times, scum of the earth. Yes, they are scum and are highly evolved scum at that.
I say they're highly evolved (companies, not the individual operators) because they look for loopholes in laws like the do not call list I'm on. And wouldn't you know it, they've found a way to push their scam to the next level.
Instead of saying they're calling from XYZ Company, asking if I want to refinance my house, they now say they're conducting a survey and would like to speak with Mr. Dow Well (they never pronounce my last name correctly). On Wednesday night and Thursday night of this week, Shannon and I were greeted with calls from a "Private Caller" and each time they asked for me and said they had a survey they were conducting and needed my input on. Each time I told the woman (same woman both times - strange - NOT!) that I was on the do not call list and to please take my phone number off of her list. Each time she agreed and said she was sorry for calling and would take my number off immediately... of course that's not going to happen.
So here are the loopholes that allow telemarketing scams like this to go on here in the state of Florida. Note that the only reason I'm putting these up here is to educate people in Florida, not to educate the phreakers cause they already know the loopholes. Think of it as seo for telemarketers.
Loopholes To Florida Do Not Call List Law
Solicitors (aka slimeballs, may make calls, when:
Furthermore, some solicitations calls are not "telephonic sales calls" as defined in the statute because they typically are not selling a product or service. Generally, calls from:
On to the annoying behavior. Now I know we all have to make a buck and there are those less fortunate than myself that have to sit in a call center making hundreds of calls a day. That's definitely not something I'd ever want to do and I can't imagine any of the people doing that ever aspired to be an outbound cold-caller. On the other hand, the companies operating these call centers are often times, scum of the earth. Yes, they are scum and are highly evolved scum at that.
I say they're highly evolved (companies, not the individual operators) because they look for loopholes in laws like the do not call list I'm on. And wouldn't you know it, they've found a way to push their scam to the next level.
Instead of saying they're calling from XYZ Company, asking if I want to refinance my house, they now say they're conducting a survey and would like to speak with Mr. Dow Well (they never pronounce my last name correctly). On Wednesday night and Thursday night of this week, Shannon and I were greeted with calls from a "Private Caller" and each time they asked for me and said they had a survey they were conducting and needed my input on. Each time I told the woman (same woman both times - strange - NOT!) that I was on the do not call list and to please take my phone number off of her list. Each time she agreed and said she was sorry for calling and would take my number off immediately... of course that's not going to happen.
So here are the loopholes that allow telemarketing scams like this to go on here in the state of Florida. Note that the only reason I'm putting these up here is to educate people in Florida, not to educate the phreakers cause they already know the loopholes. Think of it as seo for telemarketers.
Loopholes To Florida Do Not Call List Law
Solicitors (aka slimeballs, may make calls, when:
- A prior or existing business relationship exists.
- In response to an express request of the person called.
- From a newspaper publisher.
- In connection with an existing debt or contract.
- A real estate agent responds to a yard sign or other advertisement.
Furthermore, some solicitations calls are not "telephonic sales calls" as defined in the statute because they typically are not selling a product or service. Generally, calls from:
- Charitable organizations seeking donations (Florida State Troopers Ring a Bell?).
- Political candidates and political parties seeking donation.
- Research or survey companies seeking an opinion (scam outlined above).
- Collection agencies trying to locate a debtor or collect on a debt.
By Admin at 06:32 AM | Comments (8)
Subscribe to The MarketingShift Feed