[BITList] Fwd: at last

[Michael Feltham]

The sooner the better this is introduced into the UK.  You can  
register with the Telephone Preference Service but you still get these  
annoying calls  !

Mike
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Begin forwarded message:

From: "CT's" <x50type at cox.net>
Date: 28 August 2009 20:24:30 BST
To: "Uncensored BI" <BITList at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com>
Subject: [BITList] at last
Reply-To: bitlist at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com

at last - a modicum of  
sense......................................................

Starting Tuesday, many "robocalls" from telemarketers will be illegal.

A new ban on automated telemarketing calls goes into effect Tuesday.

Businesses that try to push products on consumers with automated and  
unsolicited calls will face fines of up to $16,000 per call, according  
to the Federal Trade Commission.

"American consumers have made it crystal clear that few things annoy  
them more than the billions of commercial telemarketing robocalls they  
receive every year," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a news release.

Calls from politicians, public service announcements and  
"informational" calls will be exempt from the new rule. A call  
alerting a traveler that his or her flight has been delayed would  
still be allowed, for example.

Banks, telephone carriers and most charitable organizations are also  
excluded from the ban, the FTC says.

The FTC asks people to report questionable robocalls by visiting its  
complaint Web site or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

"If consumers think they're being harassed by robocallers, they need  
to let us know, and we will go after them," Leibowitz said.

Don't Miss

FAQ: How to vanquish mobile spam
The ban on many pre-recorded calls was approved by the FTC in August  
of 2008 and is the last of a series of amendments to go into effect,  
said Lois Greisman, the FTC's associate director of marketing practices.

She said the ban applies only to pre-recorded calls and encouraged  
consumers to sign up for the federal "do not call" registry for  
additional protections.

Robocalls to mobile phones already are illegal, she said.

People still will be able to receive telemarketer calls if they give  
companies written permission to contact them.

Nate Anderson, a blogger at Ars Technica, a technology site, cheered  
the amendments but said many calls are illegal even without the new  
amendments.

"Most of the robocalls received by people in the office here are  
already illegal to do begin with -- pitches for time shares and bogus  
car warranties top the list of such calls," he wrote.

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