Wednesday, October 01, 2003
I love the DNC!
The National DNC (not to be confused with D&C, or the Democratic National Committee) takes effect, at least in part, today. DNC, in this case, stands for Do Not Call. Over 50,000,000 people have already signed up.
But don’t think the $11,000 fine per violation will be coming to you. The government gets to keep that money. Every penny of it. It just wants you to do the complaining so it can collect the booty. What you get is a few less disturbances to your privacy. Well, I suppose that's still worth a lot.
Anyway, while the courts duke out the validity of the politicians making themselves exempt from the rules, there may still be a couple of things you might want to know.
List or no list, solicitors may now only call from 8am-9pm, seven days a week. Each company must follow two lists -- the National DNC list, and its own internal DNC list. Here in Michigan, companies have been required to keep their own DNC lists for years.
Example: You tell my company not to solicit you, I can’t call you. If you purchase a computer from Mom’s Computerstore and you have previously asked me to put you on my own DNC list, I may not call and tell you when the matching printer is on sale unless you consent to sales solicitations from me in writing.
Rules for the National DNC list differ substantially. If you are registered only on the national DNC and not on the Mom’s Computerstore internal list, I may call you if you have conducted business with me in the last 18 months. So if you made your last payment on that Mom’s computer 17 months ago, I may still call you and try to sell you that matching printer after all. Or, if you call Mom’s Computerstore to ask the price of monitors, I may call you for up to three months to provide you with information on my other products.
Lots of other rules are taking effect today as part of the DNC Register. Some are ridiculously obvious but I guess you have to spell things out sometimes to avoid legal loopholes. For example, companies may only charge you the amount they quoted, companies can’t charge you for loans you never receive (except processing fees), and only charities themselves can solicit you -- gone are the days of Police, Fire, and Veteran “charities” that only “donate” a portion of the proceeds.
And.
Don’t forget, your government officials that passed this law exempted themselves from the rules. So don’t think you will get out of the Repubs & Dems calling for your support this upcoming election year. I guess if I file for candidacy for office of my local library board, I could give you a new matching printer to go with your Mom’s computer for your donation of $100 to my campaign. That might work.
We capitalists will always figure out a way to survive.
By the way, you may add your phone number -- yes, even your cell phone number, or any new number you register from now to forever -- to the national DNC, at any time (though as of this writing, additions to the list are on hold in legal limbo.) Simply go to donotcall.gov. The list will be updated every three months, and telemarketers are required to stay up to date.
Now, when oh when can I register my email address?
The National DNC (not to be confused with D&C, or the Democratic National Committee) takes effect, at least in part, today. DNC, in this case, stands for Do Not Call. Over 50,000,000 people have already signed up.
But don’t think the $11,000 fine per violation will be coming to you. The government gets to keep that money. Every penny of it. It just wants you to do the complaining so it can collect the booty. What you get is a few less disturbances to your privacy. Well, I suppose that's still worth a lot.
Anyway, while the courts duke out the validity of the politicians making themselves exempt from the rules, there may still be a couple of things you might want to know.
List or no list, solicitors may now only call from 8am-9pm, seven days a week. Each company must follow two lists -- the National DNC list, and its own internal DNC list. Here in Michigan, companies have been required to keep their own DNC lists for years.
Example: You tell my company not to solicit you, I can’t call you. If you purchase a computer from Mom’s Computerstore and you have previously asked me to put you on my own DNC list, I may not call and tell you when the matching printer is on sale unless you consent to sales solicitations from me in writing.
Rules for the National DNC list differ substantially. If you are registered only on the national DNC and not on the Mom’s Computerstore internal list, I may call you if you have conducted business with me in the last 18 months. So if you made your last payment on that Mom’s computer 17 months ago, I may still call you and try to sell you that matching printer after all. Or, if you call Mom’s Computerstore to ask the price of monitors, I may call you for up to three months to provide you with information on my other products.
Lots of other rules are taking effect today as part of the DNC Register. Some are ridiculously obvious but I guess you have to spell things out sometimes to avoid legal loopholes. For example, companies may only charge you the amount they quoted, companies can’t charge you for loans you never receive (except processing fees), and only charities themselves can solicit you -- gone are the days of Police, Fire, and Veteran “charities” that only “donate” a portion of the proceeds.
And.
Don’t forget, your government officials that passed this law exempted themselves from the rules. So don’t think you will get out of the Repubs & Dems calling for your support this upcoming election year. I guess if I file for candidacy for office of my local library board, I could give you a new matching printer to go with your Mom’s computer for your donation of $100 to my campaign. That might work.
We capitalists will always figure out a way to survive.
By the way, you may add your phone number -- yes, even your cell phone number, or any new number you register from now to forever -- to the national DNC, at any time (though as of this writing, additions to the list are on hold in legal limbo.) Simply go to donotcall.gov. The list will be updated every three months, and telemarketers are required to stay up to date.
Now, when oh when can I register my email address?
