Commercial Collections Blog

Pulling The Plug On Telemarketers

New law will end some annoying robo calls
(Associated Press)

Americans tired of having their dinners interrupted by phone calls touting car warranties or vacation packages will soon get some relief.

The Federal Trade Commission is banning many types of prerecorded telemarketing solicitations, known as robo-calls. Currently, consumers must specifically join a do-not-call list to avoid them. Starting Sept. 1, telemarketers will first need written permission from the customer to make such calls.

“American consumers have made it crystal-clear that few things annoy them more than the billions of commercial telemarketing robo-calls they receive every year,” said Jon Leibowitz, FTC chairman.

Violators will face penalties of up to $16,000 per call.

Don’t expect phone solicitations to disappear completely, though.
Calls that are not trying to sell goods and services to consumers will be exempt, such as those that provide information like flight cancellations and delivery notices and those from debt collectors.

Other calls not covered include those from politicians, charities that contact consumers directly, banks, insurers, phone companies, surveys and certain healthcare messages such as prescription notifications. The FTC said those don’t fall under its jurisdiction. And calls made by humans rather than automated systems will still be allowed, unless the phone number is on the National Do Not Call Registry.

But the FTC said the ban should cover most robo-calls, forcing marketers to turn to more expensive live calls, or ramp up efforts in direct mail, e-mail and TV ads.

“It’s about time,” says debt collector Jerry Curtis. “The unethical practices of telemarketers makes it tough for everyone who makes their living on the phone. I’m thrilled that they’re cracking down on robo-calls. I get them myself and it seems like they all come while I’m trying to have supper.” We have been trying to raise the bar for years on the commercial collection industry and our employees follow the guidelines of the commercial code.

Best Regards,

Jerry Curtis

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