| Comment Number: | OL-104549 |
| Received: | 11/29/2004 1:28:35 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Andersen |
| State: | NY |
| Subject: | Trade Regulation Rule on Telemarketing Sales |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Comment as an individual consumer. Please do not approve any dilution of the existing do-not-call restrictions. The commission asked for any other consumer harms. 1. Calls to answering machines or to cell phone message recorders do not have any ability for the consumer to respond to a key press, and would require an unwilling consumer to listen to get the 800 number. With tape answering machines, if there are messages on the machine, the recorded message usually starts part way through, eliminating caller and do not call information. 2. The calls may consume the available answering machine space, making it unusable for its intended purpose. 3. For cell phones, the consumer may use cell minutes to check messages, making this a cost to the user. Also, do not dilute the abandonment standard. My impaired 87 year old father expressed incredible frustration at calls with no one on the other end -- to the extent that he would not answer the phone at all. We got him an answering machine so people could leave messages and he could call back if he wished. But this is an imposition upon the consumer. For him the phone is a required safety device but it has become a bother not a help. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.