ted@teldata.UUCP (Ted Becker) (03/07/84)
******* Several people are interested stopping "junk phone calls", particularly those generated by machine. I am posting this with some of my ideas in order to open some discussion and start some action. Legislation or regulation is going to be required to stop these practices. My experience indicates the companies using these methods are insensitive to the wishes of anyone else and will not stop unless forced to. Some communities have laws against soliciting door-to-door (called Green River Ordinances I think.). Can someone on the net render a knowledgeable opinion as to the applicability of these laws to phone calls? Has any community banned these calls? Has there been any prosecution or litigation under invasion of privacy? In order to eliminate these calls we need get the proper legislation inacted and that will only happen if enough of us tell our legislators what we want. Here in Wash. State we can circulation a petition as an initiative of the people and if enough registered voters sign it goes on the ballot and if passed it becomes law. I'm sorry I don't have a lot of time to deal with mail so post any responses. If you are in the Seattle area call me at 827-9629 (bus.) or 743-3890 (res.). Ted Becker
lepreau@utah-cs.UUCP (Jay Lepreau) (03/07/84)
Everyone in areas targeted by automatic calling machines should just feed their babies food in large chunks. The huge law suits resulting from not being able to call for help would deter the cold hearted bastards. Jay (father-to-be) Lepreau
fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (03/08/84)
(oo)
I don't know about legal solutions, but technological ones are not too far
off. There was a press release some time back announcing the successful
trial of a new telephone networking system developed here at Bell Labs.
Among the many things this system will let you do is reject phone calls
originating from certain numbers. If you get an offending call, all you
need do is push a few buttons, and no one dialing from that number
will ever be able to reach you again. I can't give out many other details,
for one, because I don't know, and also because I'm not supposed to anyway,
but you can look for this service to be more widely available by the end
of the decade.
As a stopgap, I just have all of my phones save one silenced. I can make
calls on them, but they won't ring. The one phone that does ring is wired
to a switch I use to cut off the outside world when I'm eating, etc. Most
nuisance callers don't call after 9:00 PM, so I have my friends trained to
call after then. On those occasions when some obnoxious solicitor does get
through, I am EXTREMELY rude with them, and that at least gives me a little
satisfaction.
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fishedhall@randvax.ARPA (Ed Hall) (03/10/84)
------------------------- Just cutting off calls from a particular number won't do much good. The average phone solicitor is sitting in a room with a dozen or two other phone solicitors, each with his/her own phone. And each of these phones has its own number. Chances are the next time you are called by that organization it will be from a different number. I try not to be too snotty to phone solicitors, as I know what kind of hellholes they work in. (No, I've never *been* one, but I've *known* some.) It ain't easy being one of the most un-loved people around. So when I get called, I just say I'm not interested, I never will be interested, and have a nice day anyhow. Nothing I do is going to keep me from getting called the next time someone gets assigned my page in the back-directory. -Ed Hall decvax!randvax!edhall
wcs@ho95b.UUCP (03/10/84)
I have accidentally been the originator of a few junk phone calls. I have an answering machine at my desk, and my office just got Automatic Callback, which will connect you to another user on the same ESSX switch when his/her phone stops being busy. Normally, when the other person hangs up, it dials your phone (using a special ring code), waits until you answer, and rings the other phone. Well, my boss's phone was busy, so I punched the *77 for ACB. After about 10 minutes, I gave up and left. (There isn't a Cancel-Automatic-Callback code.) He eventually hung up, and the ESSX rang my phone. After 3 rings, my answering machine answered, so the ESSX rang my boss's phone. "Hello! This is Bill Stewart. I'm not at my desk right now, but you can leave a message for me on this machine after the beep tone, or send me electronic mail at.......
dave@rlgvax.UUCP (Dave Maxey) (03/19/84)
Here in northern Virginia, C & P has listed the following in their phone
books under Consumer Rights and Responsibilities:
"The Virginia Telephone Solicitation Ethics Council, composed of
consumers, business, government and regulated telephone industry repre-
sentatives has endorsed a Code of Ethics for telephone solicitation in
the Commonwealth.... "
One of the rules listed requires that telephone solicitors "make telephone
solicitations only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m." They further
state that this code is "through voluntary compliance" and also that if
you have a complaint it should be referred first to the telephone company
and next to "the Complaint Committee of the Virginia Telephone Solicitation
Ethics Council for further action." They also list rules about identifying
who they are, what firm they are from, not employing deception or fraud
and responding to questions in a forthright and nondeceptive manner.
Nowhere do they actually state that phone solicitation is a crime or that
solicitors could be prosecuted for badgering people. This seems to indicate
that there are no laws in our area. Besides, even if there were, how do you
prevent something like that across state lines?
- Dave Maxey (alias tbm)
{seismo,mcnc,brl-bmd,allegra}!rlgvax!davekalm@ihuxw.UUCP (James ) (03/21/84)
> From ihnp4!harpo!seismo!rlgvax!dave Wed Dec 31 18:00:00 1969 (1969? Whew, this one's been hanging around a long time!!) > Subject: Re: Junk Phone Calls > Message-ID: <1818@rlgvax.UUCP> > Date: Mon, 19-Mar-84 23:00:14 CST > Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA > Here in northern Virginia, C & P has listed the following in their phone > books under Consumer Rights and Responsibilities: > > "The Virginia Telephone Solicitation Ethics Council, composed of > consumers, business, government and regulated telephone industry repre- > sentatives has endorsed a Code of Ethics for telephone solicitation in > the Commonwealth.... " > > One of the rules listed requires that telephone solicitors "make telephone > solicitations only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m." - Dave Maxey (alias tbm) > {seismo,mcnc,brl-bmd,allegra}!rlgvax!dave This covers only "Telephone solicitors" not "junk phone calls" which are those that are sent with automatic dialers and recorded messages. THAT particular practise is to my mind a most obnoxious intrusion upon my privacy which I would be willing to advocate a general boycott (of the telephone company if necessary) in order to eliminate. The mail box full of catalogs of overpriced claptrap is about as much annoyance as I can take. They should be expicitly OUTLAWED at any time of the day or night! Anyone feel likewise? -- Jim Kalmadge IX 1c415 8-367-0475 ihuxw!kalm