How many
times have you been just sitting down to eat dinner and the phone rings? Or
maybe you’re in the middle of watching your favorite tv show when the call
comes in. The last thing you want is to be disturbed by some automated robocall
offering you “deals” on something you have no interest in.
It doesn’t
seem to matter that there’s a “Do Not Call” list. These annoying calls are
generated by someone who must not get the calls at their home. If they did,
they might not be so quick to bombard the rest of us with dire warnings about
the hidden viruses lurking in our computers or giving us a “final notice” from
Cardholder Services about our credit card.
The FTC has
long been aware of the abuse of phone solicitation by these automated
intruders. They report that there were over 200,000 complaints filed last year
alone. The companies that are doing the calling clearly have no fear of any
punishment for their actions.
Well, things
might be about to change and the robocallers might find their dialing days are
coming to an end. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has introduced legislation to
strengthen the Federal Communication Commission's ability to crack down on the
companies generating the calls.
The bill she
has introduced would give the FCC more enforcement authority, allowing harsher
penalties on robocallers. It would also allow the agency to crack down on
“spoofers,” robocallers that hide their
identity from caller ID systems or
appear to be a call from a legitimate business entity that you might
want to talk to. If passed, the bill would also expand the scope of current spoofing
rules to apply to anyone outside the country who targets a U.S. resident. The
penalty for robocall violations would increase from $16,000 to $25,000 per
call.
Time Warner
found out just how expensive robocalling can be. Recently, a federal judge
awarded an Irving, Texas woman almost $230,000 for suffering through 153 robocalls.
Even though she complained, Time Warner continued to call her with “exciting
offers”. The judge must have had his share of annoying calls because he tripled
the penalty to $1500.00 for each call.
As you might
imagine, Time Warner is scrambling to figure out how to deal with this
decision. The woman who filed suit is delighted with the $230,000 award but
stopping the calls will be priceless. Brendan Spaar hopes this sends a message
to all telemarketers. If you robocall, be prepared to pay for the call.
