Marketers Use Trickery To Evade No-Call Lists

In friday’s Wall Street Journal on page 1 was a story titled “Marketers Use Trickery To Evade No-Call Lists“. The National Do Not Call Registry was insituted to give Americans the ability to stop solicitations by phone in response to the telemarketing industry basically flooding people with phone calls. If you aren’t on the list and you are reciving telemartketing calls that you do not want I suggest you get on it.

When my girlfriend and I moved to the west coast we were hammered with 4 to 5 calls, on average, per day until we got on the list. Our phone is now peacefully quiet.

I also suggest you go read this full article, especially if you have an older person in your life that you care about.

JENNIFER LEVITZ and KELLY GREENE
October 26, 2007; Page A1

Older Americans around the country are getting duped by a seemingly innocuous tactic that can expose them to hard-sell pitches from the insurance industry.

The technique is centered on a marketing tool called the lead card, and it became popular after the federal government created its Do Not Call Registry in 2003 to shield consumers from unwanted solicitors. Sent through the mail, the lead card invites the recipient to mail off an enclosed reply for free information about, say, estate planning.

Lead cards are not illegal. Selling or leasing contact information is not illegal (although it can be a pain in the neck).

What the telemarketing industry has done is to join with the direct mail industry to do an end run around the law. By sending out lead cards the direct mail industry can then compile a database of people. These lists are then used by telemarketers to call people because a business relationship has been established.

OK, this isn’t illegal. What may be illegal is that the lead cards that have been sent are rather generic and are misleading. They do not come from any specific company per se. This technique may be fraudulent.

In the article several elderly people were pressured by the solicitors to purchase products or shift their savings into things they did not need. If you have a senior loved one pass this on to them.

What can a Prep-Paid Legal membership do in this situation?
Well since it isn’t illegal for a business to contact you about a product or service there isn’t much that can be done on this aspect of it.

If you have been contacted repeatedly and repeatedly to them to not contact you and to remove you from their call list a membership can help in this respect. If you tell them to remove your name from their lists they must do so – this is a federal law.

If you do decide to allow them to present you with their product or service there will be a sales a greement or contract – your membership covers document review to help protect you. Do not let them tell you you don’t need an attorney. If they say that you most definitely do.

To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.