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  • From: Paul Jones <pjones AT metalab.unc.edu>
  • To: internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Internetworkers] speaking of telemarketers
  • Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 16:30:52 -0400 (EDT)

http://24hour.newsobserver.com/nc24hour/ncnews/story/1384783p-1419336c.html

Cooper wants NC phone users to opt out of telemarketing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Attorney General Roy Cooper is lobbying state
legislators to create a registry that would allow phone users to block
many telemarketing calls.

Direct marketers doing business in North Carolina would be required to
register with the state and buy a list of phone numbers of residents that
don't want to be called. Nonprofit groups would be exempt.

Cooper discussed details of the proposed no-call registry at a news
conference Thursday in Charlotte. The regular session of the General
Assembly begins May 28.

Twenty-two other states have passed similar laws, though they vary in
effectiveness.

A spokesman for the Direct Marketing Association said such a law would do
more harm than good in a state like North Carolina, which has sparsely
populated areas with little commercial competition.

"What's happening here is political bandwagon-jumping," said Louis
Mastria, whose group represents more than 4,700 businesses. "The
legitimate guys are being punished for the sins of the few fly-by-night
guys."

Last year, about 185 million Americans bought something based on telephone
solicitations. More than 6 million people nationally, and 166,000 North
Carolinians, work in telemarketing.

Cooper -- who said he received a telemarketing call within five minutes of
activating a new residential line at his Raleigh home earlier this week --
believes it's an issue of consumer choice.

"They have the right to say who can come in their front door," he said.
"They should have the same right when it comes to sales pitches over the
phone."

The state already bans telemarketing calls before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
Last year, a coalition of businesses blocked a bill that would have
prohibited telemarketing calls after 6 p.m.

Cooper said the list would cost the state $900,000 to begin, but would be
self-sustaining thereafter, thanks to fees that would be charged to
telemarketers. Consumers would register by mail, telephone or Internet and
the service would be free.

Cooper cited Missouri's no-call registry law as a model for his proposal.
That law says telephone companies and other businesses that have an
"ongoing relationship" with a consumer do not have to abide by the no-call
list.

Missouri charges telemarketers $600 annually for updated lists from all
six of its area codes, and fines businesses up to $5,000 for each
violation.

Cooper said he was not sure how much North Carolina would charge for its
list, or what kind of penalties would be levied against companies that
broke the rules.

Mastria said his group already keeps its own no-call registry, which
consumers can join for free. He said the list has some 5 million phone
numbers on it.



==========================================================================
Paul Jones
"Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As MetaLab.unc.edu
pjones AT ibiblio.org voice: (919) 962-7600 fax: (919) 962-8071
===========================================================================




  • [Internetworkers] speaking of telemarketers, Paul Jones, 05/16/2002

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