Telemarketers Obey DNC Regulations

August 30, 2005

Sometimes you must go beyond the headline.

Consider this example: "If the Calls Persist, Fight Back."

That was the headline for a story appearing recently on washingtonpost.com. The first paragraph took readers on a trip down memory lane, providing the image of "another maddening, won't take-no-for-an-answer" telemarketer "insisting on selling you a miracle product or vacation plan you didn’t want."

Then we read about the National Do Not Call Registry with registrations exceeding 100 million this month. And then there's the example of the consumer complaining about how "in the past two to three weeks, I have received four calls from businesses that I have never dealt with before."

We also learn about calls that are exempt from DNC restrictions, such as those from pollsters, political groups and charities. And there's something on companies having existing business relationships with consumers that are allowed to call.

But it's not until paragraph No. 11 that we get the real news.

"Telemarketers' compliance with the rules has been good, however," according to the story. "Since its origin, the registry has received nearly 1 million complaints, a fraction of the number of registrants. And, so far, the FTC has brought just nine violation cases and four fraud cases related to the registry, including its first 'pure' do-not-call case last year against time-share telemarketers who made more than 300,000 sales calls to registered numbers, a breach that cost them $500,000 in civil penalties. The FCC has issued an additional 20 citations against companies for violating regulations, in some cases settling the $11,000 per illegal call penalty for hundreds of thousands of dollars."

So, let me get this straight: one million complaints vs. more than 100 million DNC registrants; nine violation cases and four fraud cases along with 20 citations.

Maybe the headline should have been: "Telemarketers Obey the Law, Respect Consumers' Wishes."

By Glenn J. Kalinoski, Executive Editor, Customer Inter@ction Solutions