The Truth about Cell Phone Telemarketing
Have you received an e-mail telling that your cell phone is about to be bombarded by telemarketing calls as a result of the newly proposed cell phone telemarketing? Well, stay calm. Despite terrible warnings about the imminent release of cell phone numbers to telemarketers that continue to be circulated via email year after year, no such thing is actually about to occur. Rest assured that this is not the case. The truth is, you are not about to be bombarded with telemarketing calls on your cell phone.
But, where did these dire warnings originate?
According to some reports, ominous emails have been circulating throughout the virtual world, warning consumers that telemarketers will soon start calling cell phone numbers as a result of the new cell phone number database. One email offers, in fact, a quick reminder that in a few weeks, cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketing companies, thus cell phone owners will start to receive sales calls that incur a charge. Accordingly, to fend off the onslaught, readers are encouraged to register their wireless numbers on the national Do Not Call list.
Well, up to these days, it remains unclear as to what prompted the emails to warn about cell phone marketing. However, they appear to stem from certain reports just last year when it was proposed by several national wireless companies like AT&T Wireless, Nextel, AllTel and others that a national directory of cell phone numbers will be established. It is that news actually that sparked fears that cell phone telemarketing will be considered, allowing the telemarketers to gain access to the cell phone numbers.
But, as I’ve said earlier, stay calm, as the anxiety about cell phone telemarketing has been unfounded. First and foremost, it is deemed illegal for the telemarketers to make sales pitches to wireless phones by using automatic dialers, to which is how the vast majority of telemarketing calls are placed. Another thing is that, the cell phone telemarketing remains a hoax as most of the big wireless carriers have chosen either not to take part in the directory or to put off any plans to do so in light of the consumer fears. What is maintained is that any directory will only included those customers who agreed to participate and that the wireless numbers will not be shared with telemarketers or anyone else. In addition, the said cell phone telemarketing would be impossible to occur as Congress has considered a bill to codify such rules.
Furthermore, although there is a proposed Do Not Call Registry program to which cell phone users are allowed to register, the news about cell phone telemarketing remains as a misunderstanding by those who sent the emails since the Federal Trade Commission (FCC) prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers and the federal government does not maintain a national cell phone registry. The personal cell phone users have always been able to add their numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry, which is the same registry consumers use to register their land lines. And, contrary to what some versions of the cell phone telemarketing rumor claim, there is no 31-day deadline for adding cell phone numbers to the Do Not Call list. There is no deadline whatsoever.
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