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Court halts U.S. anti-telemarketing list

         

Marcia

4:44 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



A U.S. court in Oklahoma has blocked the national "do not call" list that would allow consumers to stop most unwanted telephone sales calls, a group representing telemarketers said Wednesday.

CNN Story [money.cnn.com]

Webmasters aren't telemarketers as such, but that's good news for those who use the phone to market their services.

bcolflesh

4:52 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I wonder how many seconds passed before the judge, courthouse, and associated phone numbers were posted to every telemarketer feed site.

skipfactor

5:13 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



good news for those who use the phone to market their services

Highly unlikely any of the 50 million on the list will convert in my opinion. But yes, it is good news in that Telemarketers now have a list of 50 million people they're wasting their time/money on, and the smart ones will focus on the other 240 million not on the list.

Marcia

5:30 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Individual companies still have to observe a "don't call" request, but from a webmaster/web designer point of view, a list would be worthless.

No need to go any further than the local yellow pages, or the ads that come in the mail - pre-qualified leads because they're proven motivated by having spent more on throw-away mail than a starter brochure site would cost them.

I haven't done marketing, but I've tried a couple of test runs on using the phone calling around locally right out of the yellow pages, and the initial response and interest level was unexpectedly high considering it was a total cold call. Part of the testing for that is finding the right types of businesses to call and picking the right time seasonally.

Just like a local web design or SEO listing is good to have, there's a barrier removed when it's someone local.

Mohamed_E

7:42 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Just note these two quotes from the Washington Post [washingtonpost.com]:

The association said in a statement that it was grateful for the judge's decision, but acknowledged "the wishes of millions of U.S. consumers who have expressed their preference not to receive telephone-marketing solicitatons."

and

Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), the committee's ranking minority member, issued a joint statement this morning saying they "will take whatever legislative action is necessary to ensure consumers can stop intrusive calls from unwanted telemarketers."

netguy

8:04 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



As bcolflesh said, it didn't take long...

"Do your part to let the judge know how you feel about his ruling against the national telemarketing Do-Not-Call list. (He won't mind - he apparently likes unsolicited calls)."

.. then proceeds to give out his address & phone number.

[politicalstar.com...]

bcolflesh

8:09 pm on Sep 24, 2003 (gmt 0)

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"I just called to find out how you feel about unsolicited messages, but I'm guessing you're pretty busy right now -I'll call back later"

skipfactor

4:55 pm on Sep 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



House Passes Bill to Protect Do-Not-Call List [foxnews.com]

U.S. House lawmakers acted quickly Thursday to overturn an Oklahoma court's ruling blocking the "Do-Not-Call List," overwhelmingly passing a bill that would ensure the free government service goes into effect as scheduled next week. The Senate is expected to follow suit almost immediately.

lorax

5:58 pm on Sep 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



...now have a list of 50 million people they're wasting their time/money on, and the smart ones will focus on the other 240 million not on the list.

One would hope so but I doubt it. They simply aren't that bright.

Either way. My patience with telemarketers has grown thin. I'm a heartbeat away from creating a "Do Call" database which includes all of the contact info for those telemarketers that do call me - including the home & mobile phones for the executive staff and Board of Directors.

jeremy goodrich

6:03 pm on Sep 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



You know what you could do, as well, is look up some companies that do this type of thing / then see if they are on the 'do not call list' themselves ;)

Odds are, they won't be, then of course, we could all call up & sell them our services :) We've got more than a few USA based people here, I'll bet we could all give 'em a few hundred calls a day...

lorax

6:13 pm on Sep 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



>> I'll bet we could all give 'em a few hundred calls a day...

I had heard a rumor of a few guys locating the gateways to some of the larger telemarketing firms networks and hacking thier way in. Their goal was to establish an IP list for an organized DDOS attack.

jeremy goodrich

6:15 pm on Sep 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



No, that would NOT be good.

I'm just thinking that, if their telemarketing business is going to suffer, they could use the help of some professional web people :)

lorax

6:37 pm on Sep 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



>> No, that would NOT be good.

I didn't say it was though I admit I'd find some joy in it. ;)

The telemarketer's days are numbered as I see it. As their targets become more web savvy and folks like us develop new tools and services online the telemarketers will become both a target for those who learn how to fight back and less popular as newer less invasive services replace them.