Page 4 – July 24, 2010 MATURE LIFESTYLES
Telemarketers have their targets By NORMA MENDOZA Of the Intelligencer
Telemarketing calls can be more than just an annoyance. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that Americans lose more than $40 billion a year to telemarketing fraud. To help consumers protect themselves, the FTC has set up the national Do Not Call Registry to help you stop getting unwanted telemarketing calls. To register, call 1-888-382-1222 or visit donotcall.gov on the Web. You must call from the telephone you wish to register. Both home telephones and cell phones may be listed. Do Not Call registrations are now permanent until you request to be withdrawn from the registry. If you previously registered for a five-year term, your numbers will continue to be registered at the end of that term. Note that the registry does not include calls for which you have given prior written permission. It does not include calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship, non-commercial calls or ones that do not include unsolicited advertisements or calls on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations. Telemarketers are legally required to check the registry every 30 days and delete any new numbers from their marketing lists.
As of mid-2008, the Do Not Call Registry had registered more than 157 million telephone numbers. The FTC set up a Telemarketing Sales Rule to protect you from deceptive sales practices by telemarketers. These rules must be heeded by telemarketers. The following rules protect consumers in several ways: • Calling hours are restricted to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.; • It is illegal for telemarketers to lie about their services or goods, earnings potential, profitability, risk or liquidity of an investment, or the nature of a prize in a prize promotional scheme; • Before you pay the telemarketer must tell you the total cost of the goods they are selling, any restrictions on getting or using them and whether a sale is final or non-refundable. In a prize promotion, they must tell you the odds of winning and that no purchase or payment is necessary to win. They must inform you of any restrictions or conditions of receiving the prize; • It is illegal for a telemarketer to withdraw money from your checking account without your express and verifiable authorization; • Telemarketers may not lie to you to get you pay no matter what method of payment you choose; See "SCAMS" on Page 5
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6960 State Route 162 Maryville, IL
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