Comments:

Answers to: B. Questions on Specific Issues

1.  Yes, prerecorded telemarketing calls should be expressly prohibited by the TSR. 
Prerecorded calls make it too easy and cheap for marketers to flood homes with
unwanted phone calls.  This deluge makes consumers impatient, and they hang up
before they can hear options about how to get on the "do not call" list, even if
instructions on how to do so are left at the beginning of the message. 

2. Yes, reasonable consumers consider prerecorded calls to be coercive and abusive
of his or her right to privacy.  There are so many that the consumer feels helpless to
avoid them.  Getting on the Do Not Call Registry can be difficult and attempts to do so
often do not stop the calls.  The consumer should not have to take the proactive step to
get on the Do Not Call Registry.  The presumption should be that all consumers cannot
be called unless the  telemarketer has an established business relationship with that
particular consumer, in which case written consent must be obtained before
telemarketing calls can be made.

3.  A consumer's choice not to list his or her telephone number on the Do Not Call
Registry does not indicate that he or she is willing to accept prerecorded telemarketing
calls.  It also does not indicate a willingness to receive live telephone calls.  Many
consumers are unaware of the Do Not Call Registry or how to get on it, and so receive
all telemarketing calls unwillingly, even though they are not on the registry.

4. The Rule should specify disclosures that must be made when obtaining a
consumer?s express written agreement to receive calls.  Marketers should have to
disclose to consumers their rights with respect to dropped calls, the times at which they
will and will not call, whether they will sell your contact information to other lists, etc.

5. The safe harbor should not be applied to calls left on answering machines. 
Answering machines have limited space; telemarketers cannot be allowed to leave
dead air messages for as long as the machine will let them.  This prevents consumers
from receiving messages that they need and want.

6.  Prerecorded messages left on an answering machine are not less intrusive than
prerecorded messages answered by a person.  They are equally intrusive.  The
consumer has to take time to answer both.  Even though a message left on an
answering machine may not interrupt dinner, it takes up valuable storage space
needed for wanted and needed messages.

7.  Do consumers incur addition costs in:
a.      Paying for storage of messages they do not want?  This is not monetarily
expensive, but expensive to the consumer in that these unwanted messages take up
limited storage space and may prevent reception of other messages
b.      Exceeding their allotted storage capacity?  Yes, this is a problem.  See
above.
c.      Being unable to receive messages they want or need?  Yes, see above.
d.      Being unable to use home telephone lines tied-up by prerecorded
messages: yes, this is an annoyance
e.      E: retrieving messages: this is a time-consuming annoyance, even if the
messages can be readily deleted.

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9.  A 30-day standard should be limited to the duration of each campaign.  Marketers
should be held accountable for their business practices as closely as possible.

10.  A 30-day standard averaged across all of a telemarketer's campaigns makes it too
easy for an irresponsible marketer to violate the laws with impunity for a whole month. 
Marketers should be held accountable as soon as there is a problem; averaging too
many campaigns allows marketers to hide campaigns that are especially bad about
dead air time.

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