2

Suppose the following exchanges:

Telemarketer: Hello, I'm calling from Company X which sells Y.
Call Recipient A: Sorry, I'm not interested.

and

Telemarketer: Hello, I'm calling from Company X which sells Y.
Call Recipient B: Please add my name to your telemarketer's and seller's internal "Do Not Call" lists pursuant to title sixteen of the Code of Federal Regulations section three ten point four a one small roman three capital A.*

EDIT in response to comments: Would the answer be different if the telemarketer didn't say "which sells Y" but the call recipient already knew?

It seems clear that Call Recipient B's request should be legally effective and that the company should be legally required to stop calling. However, is Call Recipient A's request enough?

If Call Recipient A complained that s/he had clearly expressed s/he was not interested (by the line above) and the company kept calling, would that complaint be sustained? (Assume for this question that the facts are undisputed.) If not, what is the minimum a person must say or wait for in order for a request like B's to be legally effective both in stopping further calls just like that, from that caller or other telemarketers working for the same seller?

*: From Title 16, Chapter I, Subchapter C, Part 310, §310.4 of the Code of Federal Regulations, (b):

(1) It is an abusive telemarketing act or practice and a violation of this Rule for a telemarketer to engage in, or for a seller to cause a telemarketer to engage in, the following conduct: ...
(ii) Denying or interfering in any way, directly or indirectly, with a person's right to be placed on any registry of names and/or telephone numbers of persons who do not wish to receive outbound telephone calls established to comply with paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(A) of this section, including, but not limited to, harassing any person who makes such a request; hanging up on that person; failing to honor the request; requiring the person to listen to a sales pitch before accepting the request; assessing a charge or fee for honoring the request; requiring a person to call a different number to submit the request; and requiring the person to identify the seller making the call or on whose behalf the call is made;
(iii) Initiating any outbound telephone call to a person when:
(A) That person previously has stated that he or she does not wish to receive an outbound telephone call made by or on behalf of the seller whose goods or services are being offered or made on behalf of the charitable organization for which a charitable contribution is being solicited[.]

Improve this question
2
  • 2
    I think at a minimum that you have to tell them not to call again. Saying you're not interested in a particular product isn't the same as saying you don't want to receive a call from a given company or its agent.
    – phoog
    Mar 2, 2016 at 18:45
  • 2
    I would guess the standard is something like: the recipient said something that a reasonable person would understand as a statement that "he or she does not wish to receive an outbound telephone call...". For A, I think one could argue that a reasonable person would understand that A doesn't want to discuss this offer at this time, but it's not clear that they never want to discuss any offer from this company.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Mar 3, 2016 at 4:37

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Based on the CFR section quoted in the question, a person needs to specifically say "Do not call again", "Place this number on your do not call list" or in some other way indicate a desire not to be called by the caller or calling company in future. Simply saying "not interested" does not indicate that the person is unwilling to receive similar calls, perhaps about other products, in teh future.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .