Bad Business Practice – Telemarketing to Cell Phones

For the past week my wife has been harassed by an annoying telemarketing company.

She at once told them it was her cell phone and they should not be calling it.

Believe it or not, the telemarketer argued with her about it!

Can you believe that? Call someone to sell them something and then argue about them complaining about your unsolicited call! How do these people expect to make any money if they treat a potential customer that way?

I have no idea what the company was, Value something or other. We were more intent on telling them (they did not seem to understand this) that we did not want them to call us. Now or ever. What they should have said is, "Sorry, we will not call again." They also should have not called again.

But no, they argued with us!

They asked if we were on the national do not call list. We told them no. It is a cell phone and they should not be calling anyway. We also told them to remove the number from the list.

They called again.

And again. And again. And Again. And again. Get the idea. Every time we have told them do not call again. Remove us from the list. They argue. They call again. And again…….UUUUURRRRRRGGGGGGG

Does a cell phone need to be listed on the national do not call list to stop telemarketers?

No. Nearly all telemarketers use automated dialing. The FCC does not allow telemarketers to use automakers to call cell phones. They also cannot send email to cell phones from an Internet address. Yes, they are most likely breaking the law if they do this. We told them that. But nnnnnoooooo.

So, first I called our cell phone provider.

They were nice enough to credit use with an extra hour of minutes in case the calls put us over our monthly minutes. The help person suggested that sign up for the do not call list. That was about all he could do.

So, I went to the FCC and filed a complaint.

At least I know the telemarketer was indeed breaking the law. I have now reported it. I gave them 4 of the numbers and the dates they called.

You can read what the FCC and FTC have to say about telemarketing to cell phones below.

The Truth about Cell Phones and the Do Not Call Registry

Despite Re-Circulating E-mail, It is Still Not Necessary to Register Cell Phone Numbers

As the number of phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry surpassed 139 million, the Federal Trade Commission today reiterated that despite the claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers at any time in the near future. In addition, according to the agency, it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the DNC Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones.

The truth about cell phones and the DNC Registry is:

• Contrary to the e-mail, cell phone numbers are NOT being released to telemarketers, and you will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone.
• There is NO deadline by which you must register your cell phone number on the Registry.
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent.
• The national associations representing telemarketers have stated that their clients do not intend to start calling consumers’ cell phones.
• There is only ONE DNC Registry. There is no separate registry for cell phones.
• The DNC Registry accepts registrations from both cell phones and land lines. You must call from the phone number that you want to register. If you register online, you must respond to a confirmation e-mail.
• While the telecommunications industry has been discussing the possibility of creating a wireless 411 directory, according to the FCC, even if a wireless 411 directory is established, most telemarketing calls to cell phones would still be illegal, regardless of whether the number is listed on the federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry.

Source: The Truth about Cell Phones and the Do Not Call Registry

The real moral of the story is don't tick off a customer.

If someone I might do business with calls and I tell them it is my cell phone, apologize and do not call. It really is that simple. If you annoy me, I am going to get really mad! It is not a good idea to annoy a customer.

If you are polite and stop annoying me at once you may still have a customer one day.

I can understand an errant call. It happens. But if you start to annoy people, whatever company you are, you lose integrity. I like to drink Coca-Cola. But if a representative of the company started to call me on my cell phone, I would start to get annoyed. If they argued with me about calling my cell phone, I would get to the point that I would not even want to drink Coke again. It can be that annoying. Just to be clear, it was not Coca-Cola calling (and I am drinking a Sprite right now).

I filed a complaint with the FCC about the telemarketer.

Last time I filed a complaint it was about 6 months before I heard back about it. Can they do anything? Yes. The original call records can be traced and the company can be found through the records, even though the caller ID was probably faked. It probably will not though. My guess is the FCC is already too busy to deal with this.

I feel better though.

I still expect the telemarketer to call. They told me three times they were removing the number from the list. I usually do not yell at telemarketers but I will at these guys. They deserve the bad things that will happen to them.