Victory for consumers; defeat for robo-calls

About four years ago, the telemarketing industry asked the FTC to bring its rules into agreement with the FCC’s rules – to allow recorded sales calls to established customers, even if their phone number was on the Do Not Call Registry.

But when the Federal Trade Commission announced it might do that, it got an earful from nearly 14,000 people who opposed the idea.

David Brick of California wrote, “Because of the absence of a live human being, prerecorded calls are particularly noxious.”

“Please help get rid of these useless waste-of-time phone calls,” said Winnie Williams, 89, of Washington.

Peggy Sanders of Louisiana put it this way. “If I want to buy something I'll contact them. They have no respect for people's privacy. If you’re not at home they fill up your answering machine. Please stop this aggravation!”

Some recorded messages are exempt
Under the new rules, recorded calls that are “informational” and do not try to sell you something will be allowed without prior consent or written permission. Here are a few examples:

• An airline wants to notify you of a flight delay or cancellation.
• A doctor’s office or repair service calls to confirm an appointment.
• A company issues a recall of a product you purchased from them.

Political calls are already exempt from the Do Not Call Registry and recorded political messages will be exempt from the new rules. The same goes for any charity soliciting via the phone.

But there is one important change. Starting in December, if the charity hires a commercial telemarketer to raise money and that company uses a recorded message to contact previous donors, it must provide a way to opt out of future recorded calls.

My two cents
Once again, the FTC has listened to consumers and put their privacy ahead of commerce. As someone with two phone lines in the house, I am grateful to the commission for its action.

Still, you need to be on guard. Watch out for companies that try to get permission to pitch you via recorded messages. Look carefully at anything you sign (whether physically or electronically) to make sure you are not agreeing to receive unwanted recorded sales calls.

More information

• FTC issues final telemarketing sales rule amendments regarding prerecorded calls

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