Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Fri, 5 Apr 91 19:48:47 EST From: David Lesher Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Telemarketing Sleezoids Reply-To: David Lesher Message-ID: Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews abusers Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 269, Message 4 of 11 Lines: 36 We got hit by the {Miami Herald's} Telesleeze dialer yesterday. Seeing as we just got DID with about one hundred incoming numbers, it was a royal pain. I immediately asked the name of the man in charge of this verbal whorehouse. He actually accepted my call. (Gee - working for the people I do has SOME advantages ;_) I demanded he remove our entire trunk group from his machine. Time will tell if he does or not. But the real reason I write today was his claim that newspapers are immune to the law about telesleezi. He said it was a First Amendment issue. I pointed out that I had reread the First Amendment very recently, and sure did not see anything about newspaper telemarketing in it ;-} He backed off, and said it was a Supreme Court decision. I did believe THAT either, so I checked. Here's what I found: Florida Statute section 501.059 allows residential subscribers to get on a "no sales solicitation calls" listing maintained by the Dept of Agriculture Division of Consumer Services ($10 first time, $5 yearly renewal). Once you're on the list, unsolicited telephone sales calls can not be made to you except (1) in response to your express request, (2) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, (3) to any person with whom the solicitor has a prior or existing business relationship, or (4) by a newspaper publisher or his agent or employee in connection with his business. (This from a friend in the state gov't.) So I guess the newspaper lobbyist got their bonus paid this year. John Hignon, I suggest that you do NOT move to Florida. wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (305) 255-RTFM