Judge kills "National Do Not Call List"

[Jobber of the Week]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/A...o-Not-Call.html

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission overstepped its authority in creating the national ``do-not-call'' list against telemarketers.

 

The ruling Tuesday came in a lawsuit brought by telemarketers who challenged the list of 50 million people who said they do not want to receive business solicitation calls. The list was to go into effect Oct. 1.

 

U.S. District Judge Lee R. West said the main issue in the case was ``whether the FTC had the authority to promulgate a national do-not-call registry. The court finds it did not.''

 

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., and Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said Wednesday they were confident the ruling would be overturned and believe Congress did give the FTC the necessary authority.

 

``We will continue to monitor the situation and will take whatever legislative action is necessary to ensure consumers can stop intrusive calls from unwanted telemarketers,'' they said in a joint statement.

 

Calls to the FTC were not immediately returned Wednesday.

 

Direct Marketing Association Inc., one of the plaintiffs, said it was happy with the ruling, even though it ``acknowledges the wishes of millions of U.S. consumers who have expressed their preferences not to receive telephone-marketing solicitations -- as evidenced by the millions of phone numbers registered on the FTC list.''

 

The suit was filed by DMA, U.S. Security, Chartered Benefit Services Inc., Global Contact Services Inc. and InfoCision Management Corp.

 

The telemarketing industry estimates the do-not-call list could cut its business in half, costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.

 

More than a dozen states with do-not-call lists planned to add their lists to the national registry this summer, the FTC said.

 

Telemarketers would have to check the list every three months to see who doesn't want to be called. Those who call listed people could be fined up to $11,000 for each violation.

 

Hey, maybe we don't need different parties in power in Washington to make sure nothing gets done. Judges will simply overrule everything that will affect our lives.

[Guest Goodear]

The telemarketing industry estimates the do-not-call list could cut its business in half, costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.

 

Nooooo, people that go to the trouble of being put on a list to not be called by telemarketers are NOT going to buy your sucky ass products. Only lazy ass suckers buy that junk and they won't bother to put themselves on the list.

[Firestarter]

Hey, maybe we don't need different parties in power in Washington to make sure nothing gets done. Judges will simply overrule everything that will affect our lives.

Registered with the GOP yet, Jobber?

[Jobber of the Week]

Registered with the GOP yet, Jobber?

Eh, I'm still voting Republican for Governor and Democrat for President, assuming the sun doesn't explode and send us flying into The Bizarro Dimension where Lieberman wins the primary.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Hey, maybe we don't need different parties in power in Washington to make sure nothing gets done. Judges will simply overrule everything that will affect our lives.

You hit the nail right on the head, bro...

[sfaJack]

Man, if any telemarketer(s) thought I was rude to them before, just wait until the next one calls me up.

[Ced]

I guess it's back to me hanging up on them halfway through the sales pitch to make their day...

[Guest wrestlingbs]

:Ring:

 

Consumer: Hello?

 

Telemarketer: Yes, I was wondering if you were happy with you're phone service?

 

Consumer: Quit calling me!

 

Telemarketer: Ha ha. You can't stop us know pussy. You thought we were annoying before, just wait and see what we're like after you tried to stop us!

 

Consumer: NOOOOOO!

 

I hate telemarketers.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

I wonder how much money will be made now that telemarketers can call people that don't want to be bothered?...

[Jingus]

The "do not call" list thing is kinda complicated, anyway. What about instituting a new federal law that goes like this: at the very beginning of every phonecall, a telemarketer has to identify themself as being a telemarketer, and ask the person's permission to try and sell them crap. If the person says no, the company is never allowed to call that person again. Seems fairly obvious.

[Guest MikeSC]

U.S. District Judge Lee R. West said the main issue in the case was ``whether the FTC had the authority to promulgate a national do-not-call registry. The court finds it did not.''

 

Direct Marketing Association Inc., one of the plaintiffs, said it was happy with the ruling, even though it ``acknowledges the wishes of millions of U.S. consumers who have expressed their preferences not to receive telephone-marketing solicitations -- as evidenced by the millions of phone numbers registered on the FTC list.''

 

The suit was filed by DMA, U.S. Security, Chartered Benefit Services Inc., Global Contact Services Inc. and InfoCision Management Corp.

 

The telemarketing industry estimates the do-not-call list could cut its business in half, costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.

Now, what I don't get is this:

 

1) How in the world can this found to be illegal? What about MY rights not to have some insepid putz calling me, asking if I want new windows or what have you. If I WANTED them, I'd GET them --- you would not NEED to contact me.

 

2 Why would the telemarketers fight this? Does the utter disdain that EVERYBODY holds these scum to not affect them?

 

The funniest part of all of this is that Dave Barry printed the phone number to one of these groups in one of his columns recently and they received so many calls they had to stop answering the phones.

 

Why not simply force these groups to have their numbers appear on caller ID, rather than always being "unknown" or what have you?

-=Mike --- who would happily call them and drive them nuts myself

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America]

2 Why would the telemarketers fight this? Does the utter disdain that EVERYBODY holds these scum to not affect them?

 

I think it has something to do with not putting an entire industry out of work.

[Jobber of the Week]

I think it has something to do with not putting an entire industry out of work.

But they're working it through my private line which I pay for. It is akin to planting a billboard in my front yard.

[Firestarter]

I think it has something to do with not putting an entire industry out of work.

As Dave Barry said in the column Mike mentioned, "you could use pretty much the same reasoning to argue that laws against mugging cause unemployment among muggers. But that would be unfair. Muggers rarely intrude into your home."

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America]

I'm not defending them, I'm stating the argument they likely had.

 

Personally, I don't really care.

[Guest SweetNSexyDiva]

Fucking shit! I am so tired of my home phone ringing with people selling me shit or asking me to take an hour of my time for a survey!

[Lightning Flik]

Meh. If it's a telemarketer, I'll just hang up on them.

 

Pure simple and fast. If they call back, I just do it again.

[Lightning Flik]

Edit: Double Post.

[Lightning Flik]

Edit: My first Triple Post.

[The Czech Republic]

Congrats! Triple-posts, now those take work, man. I still haven't rung the ol' bell three times.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Well that sucks. Guess I get my alarm clock back.

 

And see this is why people don't turn out to vote. You vote for something and then one idiot judge overturns what the PEOPLE want.

[Firestarter]

The FTC isn't backing down on this one. Neither is the House or the Senate.

 

Update

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Fucking shit! I am so tired of my home phone ringing with people selling me shit or asking me to take an hour of my time for a survey!

I do try and accommodate the people that want to take surveys. I don't know why; I'm a big softie. I worked as one of those phone survey jobs -- for a day.

 

I asked them in the interview if this involved cold calling and was told no. Well, they lied (surprise, surprise) and I left...

[Ced]

The only way this could get worse is if the telemarketers go RIAA on us and attempt to sue everyone on the DNC lists for trying to drive them out of business.

[cynicalprofit]

Funny ppl bitch about ppl calling them but they dont care how bad TV is screwing them up.

 

Anyone else hear congress say that it would pass a law to make it legal to prevent them from calling you because of certain fcc issues? Now Im not for telemarketers, but isnt congress passing a law to ban them, oh I dont know, a sever abuse of power?

[Guest Cerebus]

One interesting side note... this comes from the Weekly Standard

 

This story has already run its course, but we loved it and thought you might have missed it. A few weeks back Dave Barry, in the best tradition of cranky newspaper column-writing, published the phone number of the American Teleservices Association, the telemarketing lobby. Readers were encouraged to call and "tell them what you think." Said Barry: "I'm sure they'd love to hear your constitutionally protected views!"

 

It struck a chord. Thousands of calls came in. The association was forced to stop answering its toll-free line. Complaining last week to the Associated Press, Tim Searcy, the executive director of the group, said, "It's difficult not to see some malice in Mr. Barry's intent." Showing off his legendary soft touch, Barry responded: "I feel just terrible, especially if they were eating or anything."

[Anakin Flair]

Just do what I do- if it says "unknown" on the caller ID, let the machine pick it up. If the person on the other end really wanted to talk to you, they'd leav a message.

[Firestarter]

The House just gave the FTC explicit authority to implement the national Do Not Call list. The Senate is expected to follow on their heels.

 

Update

[Ripper]

This whole "do not call" list thing is bullshit anyway. Thats right...I'm on their side. So you basically kill off the industry and put hundreds of thousands of people out of work because people are too pussy to HANG UP. Its not hard, you put the phone down and the call is over.

 

"Boo Hoo, the phone rung and it took 8 seconds out of my day....lets put a industry out of work."

 

Half of the people that will get on this list are the exact same people that actually DO buy the stuff that telemarketors are selling.

[Firestarter]

Half of the people that will get on this list are the exact same people that actually DO buy the stuff that telemarketors are selling.

In the immortal words of Inspector Clouseau: "Not anymore."