Posted: 11/13/02

Loopholes in telemarketing program

My head had been on the pillow for about 90 minutes last week when the phone rang. It was someone from a major automobile manufacturer offering me a sensational deal.

We all know the excitement of these ìtelemarketingî calls. My excitement was tempered, I must admit, by the fact it was 8:30 a.m. and I had been up all night covering election results.

I wasnít very nice with the fellow on the other end of the line. My disposition might have been better at 8:30 at night, but not in the morning.

I snuggled back with my pillow and tried to forget election results and the annoying call. I must have drifted off into some kind of sleep only to be startled by the phone again.

It was 10 a.m. now and there was a guy on the other end of the line asking about windows and siding for the house.

I couldnít remember if I owned the house or not, so I told the man a bit of a white lie. The phone went blank, the caller was gone and I was awake again.

Later in the day it came to me that here were two more reasons why I dislike telemarketing calls so much. They were particularly annoying during the election season; our phone was bombarded by calls with most coming from the Republican Party or the MCCL.

They got the click before 10 words could be uttered by this computer message system. It wouldnít do any good to complain because there would be no one to hear it.

At that moment last week I sensed relief may be in sight when word began spreading that the time was right to sign up for the new ìDo Not Call List.î

This new bill was signed into law on May 15. Even though it isnít slated to go into effect until Jan. 1, 2003, there finally seemed a way to fight back against these constant intrusions in our lives.

We signed up like the hundreds of thousands of other Minnesotans who are looking for relief. It seemed like a good deal at the time, but now I am starting to wonder if the new law will do any real good.

Hereís why.

In an examination of the law, one finds out there are many things the law does not do. It does not stop all telemarketing calls to consumers.

While many telemarketing firms are required to purchase from the state the ìDo Not Callî lists, others are not required to do so.

The latter category includes:

ïNon-profit organizations.

ïPolitical organizations (Oh, great!).

ïBusinesses with a prior relationship with the customer, such as banks, credit card companies and telephone companies.

ïBusinesses that do not complete the sale over the phone, but rather complete the transaction in a face-to-face setting.

I may still be groggy from election night numbers, but I am wondering what real good this law can do?

In looking at the exceptions to the ìDo Not Callî list I am not seeing the door being shut on telemarketing calls by any means.

I suppose getting rid of even one telemarketing call would be some relief to this headache. But could this system end up creating a new set of headaches?

The state and the Department of Commerce is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the ì"Do Not Callî list and making sure it is enforced. Folks at commerce carry the burden of making sure the telemarketing companies that are required to buy the lists each year do so. Good luck here to our state officials.

There are civil penalties involved for violators. Fees charged to companies using telemarketing sales techniques are said to be ample to cover the cost of administering the program.

Will they cover the legal costs to enforce it? Will they be enforced at all? Is this is another government program that will simply generate more red tape for us all?

With such a law on the books, the commerce department may end up with one unwelcome fact. Consumers may sign up for the program under the impression their lives will now be free of all unwelcome telemarketing calls.

Good luck on that one.

We wonít be free of telemarketing calls come Jan. 1. Not by any means.

They are sure to continue.

But we do have one recourse. If there are problems or complaints, here is what you do.

Pick up the telephone, call 651-282-5064 and make your own telemarketing call to the state telling them we just might need something better.

I think the public is excluded from having to buy the ìDo Not Callî list.

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