Pull telemarketers’ plug forever It’s been nice not having dinner-time conversations interrupted by the sharp ring of the telephone. And we’ve really enjoyed not having to answer a telemarketer’s call just as the movie we’ve been watching on the TV for the last two hours nears the climax.
Millions of Americans, who placed their telephone numbers on the federal no-call list, have been spared of those unwanted interruptions. Unfortunately, though, millions of Americans stand to lose that cherished peace and privacy in their homes if Congress doesn’t come to their rescue.
As it turns out, numbers placed on the no-call registry are only protected for five years, and those five years will be up for many folks starting next June.
Lawmakers, who believe as we do, that it’s a hassle to have to reregister, can easily fix the problem by making the no-call list a permanent fixture.
All they have to do is vote for a bill introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., who doesn’t believe people should be forced to register in order to keep from being hounded by telemarketers. Doyle recently introduced legislation with bipartisan support to keep the telemarketers at bay permanently.
“When someone takes the time and effort to register, they shouldn’t have to keep a calendar to find out when they have to re-up to keep this nuisance from happening,” Doyle said in an interview with the Associated Press.
The Federal Trade Commission built the five-year limit in the no-call program to take into account people who change their phone numbers or who move.
Dole wisely detected the fallacy in that contention, pointing out that the list is purged each month of numbers that have been disconnected and reassigned to new customers.
We’re most definitely in favor of Dole’s stance. The FTC’s limitation is definitely a wrong number as far as the 149 million people who signed up for the no-call list are concerned.
It’s a bad idea whose time will soon come unless Congress emphatically tells the FTC to hang it up.
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