Forget The Government, Worry About Companies Supporting The Patriot Act

Do Not Call List Operator AT&T Leads In Complaints

from the questionable-motives dept

Wed, Apr 23rd 2003 1:16am — Mike Masnick

As we get closer to actually having a national "do no call" list to finally give us some peace and quiet from telemarketers, AT&T has been chosen to manage the list. There's just one problem with this assignment: AT&T is the company with the most amount of complaints for its telemarketing practices. Nearly 6,000 complaints were filed with the FCC about AT&T's telemarketing practices in the last three years alone. Even worse, more than one-fifth of those complaints said that AT&T did not heed requests to be put on the company's own "do not call" list. AT&T says the complaints are because they're so large, and occasionally things fall through the cracks. Of course, none of this really matters because AT&T won't be among the companies that are held to the "do not call" list. As a telecom firm, it's telemarketing practices are regulated by the FCC - and not the FTC.

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4 Comments

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Bob Dole, 23 Apr 2003 @ 5:55am

AT&T will be subject to the same rules
The article is quite misleading in the last 2 paragraphs. The law authorizing the do not call list says that the FCC must coordinate with (i.e., have the SAME rules as) the FTC on telemarketing.

AT&T simply won't be exempt from the rules. The stats AT&T's problems are there only because the FCC has been hounding them.
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Jablonsky, 31 Dec 2003 @ 7:58am

Re: AT&T will be subject to the same rules
I'm in the military and must be have a phone connection 24/7. I put myself on both no call lists. I keep getting calls from only one source, AT&T. I've been nice, insulting, pleading, and even some begging, to no avail. I've done the things told to do and they said they do not have to stop (the sales person on the phone). I've become an anti AT&T person, stopped even looking at their mail ads, tell all of my friends about them. One thing I tell them is that if they ever get sued that the only persons that will have to pay is their own customers to make up for their harrasment. I will never use AT&T again even if I have to pay more from another source! I am still getting calls from them!
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J. Hov, 5 Nov 2007 @ 2:41pm

anormous phone bill charges
AT&T is the one who seals your telephone numbers all over the world now consider your sell phone numbers are also sold all over the world. When I complaint they refused to do anything about it. AT&T promised to block my calles but until this day I have not seen it done.
That is not enough all the illegal immigrants make phone calles to their homeland on my dime because AT&T stilles from us to give lower rates to so called poor. If they are so poor why are they making phone calles all over the world when I am being charged $1,186.92 for $22.23 phone call for the entire month. And when I complain they say I am not a good person and I don't understand. What is there not to understand that I am not an idiot and I don't like to let the AT&T to take advantage of me that is why?
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bonnie cain, 30 Nov 2007 @ 10:29am

do not csll list
i wish to have my name on this becsuse it is so agravating especailly nights & weekends
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