Some Robocalls Will Be Banned

By Consumer Reporter Tak Landrock
t.landrock@krdo.com
follow me on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/taklandrock

COLORADO SPRINGS - Tired of having your dinner interrupted by phone calls about car warranties and vacation getaways?  Relief is on the way.

A new law banning "robocalling" will go into effect on Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission is banning many of the pre-recorded calls to give consumers a break from what many consider an annoyance. 

Starting September 1^st, telemarketers will first need written permission from the customer to make such calls. "American consumers have made it crystal clear that few things annoy them more than the billions of commercial telemarketing robocalls they receive every year," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC.

Anyone in violation of the new ban could face fines of up to $16,000 per call, but the law excludes certain companies and individuals who still want to get their message to you.

Calls that are not trying to sell goods or services to consumers can still go through. For example, flight cancellations, delivery notices and debt collectors will be allowed to use pre-recorded messages to call you. 

Other calls not covered by the ban include those from charities, banks, insurers, phone companies, surveys, prescription notifications and those from politicians.

"Robocalls are essentially an invasion of privacy," says Shaun Dakin, founder of stoppoliticalcalls.org. Since 2007 his organization has been pushing bipartisian legislation to restrict certain types of political robocalls.

According to Dakin, Pew Researchers found robocalls to be the number one form of political communication in the U.S. "They're less than a quarter of a cent a call, so for an example, you can call 800,000 people for $2,000."

It doesn't surprise him that politicians have exempted themselves from the latest robocall ban. "Voters hate it when politicians tell us to do something and they don't have to do it."

He feels if you sign up for the National "do not call list" politicians should honor your wishes to not be bothered. He also would like to see messages from candidates say who sponsored the call when the call starts.

Dakin says you can't put a total ban on robocalls on politicians because it would violate freedom of speech, but he feels restrictions should be put into place before the next election year.

After September 1^st, if you get a robocall from an unauthorized caller, you can file a complaint by calling  1-877-FTC-HELP.