10 Responses to “Cost for violating do-not-call law: $2.31 million for DirecTV, $900K for Comcast. Somehow it doesn’t seem like enough…”

1. D Woodhouse Says:
   April 17th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

   Looking for info on your warranty calls? Do a Google
   search for “Heather Account Services”.

2. Pat Says:
   April 18th, 2009 at 10:32 am

   I had a company call repeatedly and they kept getting my husband, but they were asking for me.
   Finally they called and got me. They tried to claim they had serviced my furnace previously and named a date. That date was before we owned the house or had the current phone number. I informed her I had never, ever utilized the services of her company and that I would be reporting her company to the do not call registry. She swore at me and hung up. I had fun, I called her back said the fact that she swore at me would also be reported.

   Whenever I get one of these calls, I immediately report them to the Do No Call Registry. If I have to, I do a reverse search and find out the name of the company.

3. Mark Says:
   April 18th, 2009 at 11:47 am

   What “Pat says” will not always work. Some caller ID’s are spoofed and show up as 999-999-9999 … or the number does not exist so when you call back, you get the message that the number is not in service. There is one number that even when you put it on Comcast’s screening list, it still gets though which I think is Comcast selling more services.

4. Camden Says:
   April 19th, 2009 at 12:22 pm

   This is SO funny and kind of funny that the
   Star Tribune is reporting on this. Over the past
   week we have received something like 30 calls at my
   work place solicitating us to sign up for a subscribtion
   to the Star Tribune. Everytime we tell them to not call,
   and it keeps happening. The sad thing is that we already
   get a daily paper from both them and the Pioneer Press.
   Most Calls are from California funny enough but comes
   from various area codes. They seem to be quite desperate.

5. James Says:
   April 19th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

   Camden! Send your contact info to whistleblower@startribune.com and I’ll get those calls stopped, at least from the Strib.

6. Calli Arcale Says:
   April 19th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

   Camden — a gal from the Strib somehow managed to call one of the conference rooms where I work. She tried to sell us a subscription even though I’d answered the phone “training room,” which ought to have been a hint that maybe she wasn’t talking to somebody in a position to be making a decision about subscription services. After I got it through her head that she was interrupting a conference (much to the amusement of the trainees, who were laughing out loud by this time), she suggested that someone else at my company might be interested, at which point I had to hang up on her. Not only do I not know who (if anyone) would be the appropriate person to try to sell newspapers to at my company, but she was wasting valuable training time. Fortunately, it served to lighten the mood for my training session, but I found it somewhat disturbing in hindsight. That room is not a listed number (and indeed, is vacant much of the time). Either there was a typo in the “please spam these people” list, or Strib is dialing randomly. If it’s the latter, I’m very disappointed.

7. ripsnortinroy Says:
   April 20th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

   Sadly, those using the robo-callers are a ruthless bunch, hence the need for the do not call list. If these people had any scruples, this would never have been needed. My mother, 86 years old, broke a hip, and after a bit of time in the hospital, was moved to a nursing home for a month or so of physical rehab. To make sure we could contact her when we weren’t there with her, we got her a phone installed, and in the two days it took get her new number placed on the do-not-call list, we were virtually inundated with telemarketing calls.

   Some of the more persistent calls comes from some company of pirates who begin with a message that says something to the effect that you need to do something about your credit card. If you listen carefully, you will be told that this is an attempt to get you to take a card that offers lower interest rates, but my Mother always interprets it as “there is a problem with your credit card.” Like the author of this piece, I have tried every possible method to get this group to discontinue their calls, but to no avail. I have even gone along with them to get the name of the business, but, having googled their opening line, I have found that there are many of their victims who are also unable to get them to quit calling. Oh, sure, they may quit for a while, but just when you think you finally got through to them, the phone rings, and you hear them again.

   Considering the pain this group has put us through, I can’t say I feel sorry for anyone involved from either Comcast or DirectTV.

8. derekm Says:
   April 20th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

   James,

   Like another poster said, you were a potential victim of a scam, It was not a violation of the DNC registry because theye’re likely outside the USA. And yes, I get them too and I hate it.

9. Maxine Says:
   April 22nd, 2009 at 10:10 am

   DON’T GIVE IT OUT!

   I have had the same phone number for five years, and have yet to receive a telemarketer call. Reason being, my number is unpublished and I don’t give out the phone number to businesses. In cases where the business “requires” a phone number. I indicate that I will follow up with them, rather than to have them call me. The same goes for email. I don’t give out my email address. Only family and friends need to contact me via email. BE SMART!

10. Whistleblower » Blog Archive » Feds crack down on telemarketers who bragged about a billion calls Says:
    May 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am

    […] Sunday column follows up on my rant last month about a rude telemarketer who interrupted my domestic tranquility. For a brief moment last week, I […]