Unplugging Telemarketers

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

May 17, 1999 / 5:58 PM EDT / CBS

Tired of telemarketers calling you and interrupting your dinner? There are things you can do to make them stop calling. CBS This Morning gets some tips from Chet Dalzell, of the Direct Marketing Association.

They always seem to come at the worst possible times: phone calls that force you to stop whatever you're doing and listen to a sales pitch. If you want them to leave you alone, don't just hang up, tell them to stop calling.

Then, if they call again, you can take them to court.

Telemarketers made 209 billion calls last year, Dalzell says. Increased competition due to deregulation of financial services and telecommunications is a major contributor, he says; energy is next to be deregulated.

A federal law says you can sue telemarketers who keep calling after you have told them not to. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires companies to keep a list of people who don't want to be bothered by telemarketers. All you have to do is tell them to put you on their "do not call" list.

You need to use specific language. Charles Harwood of the Federal Trade Commission says, "It's absolutely essential that a consumer say to the telemarketer, 'put me on your do not call list'."

Dalzell adds, "If you are worried about them calling you again and they do call back, keep a log. Mark down the date that you requested them not to call again and if they do, complain to the FTC or the FCC and they will act on patterns of complaints against a company."

Dalzell says you also can complain to your state's attorney general's office or file a small claims. He points out, too, that it does take some time for a 'do not call' request to be honored.

The Direct Marketing Association can help as well. The DMA has a telephone preference service that allows consumers to indicate that they don't want to be called. It's a way to reach thousands of companies at one time, although word will reach only national, not local companies. Marketers use it to save money by not calling people who don't want to be called. To get on the list, write to the DMA and ask to be placed on the telephone preference list. In three to six months, you will see a decrease in calls for national services like retail, financial and telecommunications companies.

To get on the list, write to:
Telephone Preference Service
Direct Marketing Assoc.
P.O. Box 9014
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014

There are a number of organizations on the Internet that can help you go after the telemarketers. Some, like Junkbusters.com even provide a script you can keep by the phone.

Other Web sites you can access are:
Direct Marketing Association, CalCompliance.com, and privatecitizen.com or call 1-800-cut-junk.

Compliance.com offers 'telestop' for consumers. Telestop prevents telemarketing calls from coming through your phone line by blocking them. The phone service provider charges the consumer $7.50 a year and the consumer lists up to two numbers that they want the service for--for example, home number and fax.

In addition, some states offer help to residents. States that have "do not call" lists:

Florida
Georgia
Oregon
Arizona
Kentucky
Alaska

Consumers can add their names to these lists and telemarketers can't call them.

Those who have taken their prorblem to court say it's worth the effort, not just because of the money they've collected but because they do not get those annoying calls anymore.

Besides suing, you can get caller ID to screen your calls. Some phone companies now have other electronic services. US West has one called "no solicitation." It tells callers you don't accept sales calls. If they stayed on the line and talked to you, they'd be violating federal law!