| Comment Number: | OL-110252 |
| Received: | 12/15/2004 10:52:56 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | S Shofner |
| State: | FL |
| Subject: | Trade Regulation Rule on Telemarketing Sales |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
It is with great concern that I ask the Federal Trade Commission NOT to reverse the previous, educated decision of not allowing telemarketers to contact millions of citizens whose telephone numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry. Allowing sales calls in any way, shape, or form to any citizen who has already registered their telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry is contradictory to the very title and original, intended purpose. The overwhelming response to the creation of the Registry should be a clear indication that the approx. 62 million persons on the list DO NOT WANT sales calls at all. I consider any sales phone call, in any form, to be an intrusion and an invasion of my privacy, certainly, when I have paid to have my telephone service private and unlisted. I do not expect sales persons from local stores abruptly coming into my home to sell me products or services, nor do I want telemarketers calling during my private time, and interrupting what small amount of time I have to relax to maintain my health for a very stressful job. If I want to shop, I will, and I will do it on my terms, not on the terms of telemarketing agencies whose products I have no interest or need of. If I care to call a business, I do not want a call back from them unless I have given them explict instruction or permission to do so. From personal experience, the majority of telemarketing companies employ barely-literate individuals reading from a prepared script of what they are trying to sell. They are not completely educated about the various products they are trying to push on consumers, nor do they listen or comply when a request or demand is made to remove the telephone number from their calling list. Numerous telephone companies offer Call-Block to their customers. Why can't the FTC make it's National Do Not Call Registry just as effective? I certainly do not care for the frustration and aggravation of having to clear each of the unwanted telephone messages from my voice-mail service, simply to get to the important messages that I need to hear from family, friends, and extensions of my vocation. Should the Federal Trade Commission reverse itself in the decision to allow the pre-recorded messages of telemarketers, it will effectively render the National Do Not Call Registry 'Null and Void', and the FTC will further lose the faith of millions of citizens who have entrusted the FTC to do battle against this aggravating and unwanted instrusion into their lives. Thank you for your time and attention to my comments. Respectfully, Ms. S. Shofner