Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Chris Petrilli Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Automated Salesmen Message-ID: <11254@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 23 Aug 90 14:22:53 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: Chris Petrilli Organization: The University of Texas at Austin Lines: 35 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 589, Message 7 of 8 In article <11213@accuvax.nwu.edu> cirian@einstein.eds.com (Steve Cirian) writes: >Last night, I had a call from a computer at Kodak, trying to sell me >something. After listening for a few moments, I lost interest, and >hung up. I tried to call a friend a minute or two later. To my >surprise, the recording was still going, and there was nothing I could >do to break the connection. A thought occurred to me: what if I had >an emergency, needed to call 911, and couldn't because Kodak had tied >my phone up (for at least 5 minutes)? Is this legal? Shouldn't >companies that use this sales strategy be required to have a system >that would recognize a hangup, and break the connection? I also had one of these "calls" about one week ago, which after fifteen MINUTES! was still on the line. It also kept calling back until I listened to it (it tried five times). To say the least I was annoyed (a little stronger word here), and I immediately called the Texas Attorney General the next day. According to the lady I talked to there, they are already investigating it, and looking at filing charges against them. When I phoned SWBT, they were unable to tell me who it was, but they had also had complaints, so they probably knew who it was, and they said that they had given the company one week to stop, or they would disconnect service, and look into legal action. Sounds like a major problem to me. Chris Petrilli "Opinons represented here University of Texas at Austin do not necessarily INTERNET: petrilli@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu represent those of a sane SNAILMAIL: 429 Brady Lane, Austin, Texas, 78746 person. Take them as PHONE: +1 512 327 0986 simply that."