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American Morning

Don't Call Us

Aired June 27, 2003 - 07:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They always seem to call at the worst possible times. What's a good time, though? Yes, we're talking about those annoying telemarketers, but now you can block many of those calls by signing a new national do-not-call list. Some calls are exempted, including those from charities, pollsters and politicians. We'll get into that in just a little bit.
And we'll give you a phone number and a Web site in just a few minutes after this segment, so if you want to get something to write it down, do that now.

Joining us from the White House, where they will be launching this service from the Rose Garden in just a bit, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell.

Gentlemen, good to have you both with us.

MICHAEL POWELL, FCC CHAIRMAN: Good morning.

TIMOTHY MURIS, FTC CHAIRMAN: Good to be here, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's begin with you, Mr. Powell. This is not the kind of thing that can stop your mother-in-law from calling you if you don't want to have her call you. This is for very specific entities out there. Who is on the list, and who can you block?

POWELL: We can block virtually everybody, although we won't attempt to block your mother from calling you. It's a very comprehensive national database between the two of us. Our rules cover virtually every industry, and the only limited exceptions are charities, politician, and if you have a very recent business relationship they can call for a very short period of time until that time expires.

O'BRIEN: And you can stop that if you want. You can ask that company with that relationship to stop calling you, correct?

POWELL: Absolutely. For example, if you have an ongoing relationship with your phone company, they can call you, but the first time they call you all you have to do is suggest, I don't want to be on your call list, and you are off.

O'BRIEN: All right, Mr. Muris, explain some (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for me. How do people get on these lists?

MURIS: Well, this is very easy to do. Any place in the United States right now you can register at donotcall.gov. West of the Mississippi, including Minnesota and Louisiana, you just call 1-888- 382-1222.

Now, there is one other wrinkle. There are about 20 million people signed up in various state registries, 14 million of those will automatically be registered. To find out if you're in that group or not, you need to visit the Web site and it will tell you.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I was on the Georgia do-not-call list. I checked it this morning, and it turns out I had to re-register. So, some states you have to do it and some states you don't.

MURIS: Correct.

O'BRIEN: All of this is free, and that's one thing we should point out here. If somebody tells you, pay me a few bucks and I'll put you on the list, that's a scam, right?

MURIS: Absolutely. And we recently brought a case against somebody trying to use that scam.

O'BRIEN: OK, well, good. Let's remember that.

Now, let's talk about the recourse for this. Mr. Powell, if you still get calls, what can you do about it?

POWELL: You're going to have a lot of options. If you get calls, you should lodge your complaint. We are going to have places on our Web site and a telephone number that will allow you to call and register your complaint with the commission. Our two agencies, Chairman Muris and mine, are working on a memorandum of understanding to combine our enforcement efforts. And you also, if your state has a do-not-call program, you'll also be able to file complaints there under their procedures. And penalties can range up to $11,000 per unwanted call. So, I think the enforcement is going to have some teeth in it, and you're going to have a lot of options.

O'BRIEN: All right, telemarketers, as much as we may revile them, have families to feed as well. And the industry which represents this group says this is a big hit for them. How do you respond to that? Is this putting people out of jobs?

POWELL: Well, I think it's important to note that we do recognize that telemarketing is a legitimate business. This is an effort to balance their legitimate business interests with a real groundswell of consumer concern. What this really should be conceptualized is giving consumers the tools to be the one that controls when they want to be reached and when they don't.

There will still be people who do not sign up. There will be other ways to contact consumers and pitch one's wares. But I think that what we won't allow you to do is the kinds of things that have created this groundswell of consumer anxiety.

MURIS: And when you talk privately to telemarketers, not to their public spokesman, they'll tell you, we don't want to call people who don't want to be called.

O'BRIEN: If they don't want to be bothered, why bother? Very quickly, though, Commissioner Muris, this does nothing for spam. Are we likely to see more spam because these people can't call us?

MURIS: Well, spam is a serious and growing problem. We actually want people to send us their spam so we can look for cases. We brought 53 cases recently. Congress is working on legislation. We're working with criminal authorities on prosecutions. I know the industry is working to try to block spam. So, this is a problem that we're on the job.

O'BRIEN: All right. We go from one problem to the next, the frying pan to the fire, if you will. All right, thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it very much. Hope everything goes well in the Rose Garden today.

Now, as promised, those numbers and the Web site. First of all, if you'd like to do just do it on the phone, here is the number to call: 888-382-1222. If you want to do it on the Web, it was really easy at about 4:30 this morning. I suspect as the day rolls on, you might have a little trouble hitting this site. But, you know, try it on the off-hours. Donotcall.gov is the place. It's very simple. You can do up to three phone numbers, including a cell phone if you'd like, all in one shot there. So, good luck and enjoy the peace.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired June 27, 2003 - 07:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They always seem to call at the worst possible times. What's a good time, though? Yes, we're talking about those annoying telemarketers, but now you can block many of those calls by signing a new national do-not-call list. Some calls are exempted, including those from charities, pollsters and politicians. We'll get into that in just a little bit.
And we'll give you a phone number and a Web site in just a few minutes after this segment, so if you want to get something to write it down, do that now.

Joining us from the White House, where they will be launching this service from the Rose Garden in just a bit, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell.

Gentlemen, good to have you both with us.

MICHAEL POWELL, FCC CHAIRMAN: Good morning.

TIMOTHY MURIS, FTC CHAIRMAN: Good to be here, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's begin with you, Mr. Powell. This is not the kind of thing that can stop your mother-in-law from calling you if you don't want to have her call you. This is for very specific entities out there. Who is on the list, and who can you block?

POWELL: We can block virtually everybody, although we won't attempt to block your mother from calling you. It's a very comprehensive national database between the two of us. Our rules cover virtually every industry, and the only limited exceptions are charities, politician, and if you have a very recent business relationship they can call for a very short period of time until that time expires.

O'BRIEN: And you can stop that if you want. You can ask that company with that relationship to stop calling you, correct?

POWELL: Absolutely. For example, if you have an ongoing relationship with your phone company, they can call you, but the first time they call you all you have to do is suggest, I don't want to be on your call list, and you are off.

O'BRIEN: All right, Mr. Muris, explain some (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for me. How do people get on these lists?

MURIS: Well, this is very easy to do. Any place in the United States right now you can register at donotcall.gov. West of the Mississippi, including Minnesota and Louisiana, you just call 1-888- 382-1222.

Now, there is one other wrinkle. There are about 20 million people signed up in various state registries, 14 million of those will automatically be registered. To find out if you're in that group or not, you need to visit the Web site and it will tell you.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I was on the Georgia do-not-call list. I checked it this morning, and it turns out I had to re-register. So, some states you have to do it and some states you don't.

MURIS: Correct.

O'BRIEN: All of this is free, and that's one thing we should point out here. If somebody tells you, pay me a few bucks and I'll put you on the list, that's a scam, right?

MURIS: Absolutely. And we recently brought a case against somebody trying to use that scam.

O'BRIEN: OK, well, good. Let's remember that.

Now, let's talk about the recourse for this. Mr. Powell, if you still get calls, what can you do about it?

POWELL: You're going to have a lot of options. If you get calls, you should lodge your complaint. We are going to have places on our Web site and a telephone number that will allow you to call and register your complaint with the commission. Our two agencies, Chairman Muris and mine, are working on a memorandum of understanding to combine our enforcement efforts. And you also, if your state has a do-not-call program, you'll also be able to file complaints there under their procedures. And penalties can range up to $11,000 per unwanted call. So, I think the enforcement is going to have some teeth in it, and you're going to have a lot of options.

O'BRIEN: All right, telemarketers, as much as we may revile them, have families to feed as well. And the industry which represents this group says this is a big hit for them. How do you respond to that? Is this putting people out of jobs?

POWELL: Well, I think it's important to note that we do recognize that telemarketing is a legitimate business. This is an effort to balance their legitimate business interests with a real groundswell of consumer concern. What this really should be conceptualized is giving consumers the tools to be the one that controls when they want to be reached and when they don't.

There will still be people who do not sign up. There will be other ways to contact consumers and pitch one's wares. But I think that what we won't allow you to do is the kinds of things that have created this groundswell of consumer anxiety.

MURIS: And when you talk privately to telemarketers, not to their public spokesman, they'll tell you, we don't want to call people who don't want to be called.

O'BRIEN: If they don't want to be bothered, why bother? Very quickly, though, Commissioner Muris, this does nothing for spam. Are we likely to see more spam because these people can't call us?

MURIS: Well, spam is a serious and growing problem. We actually want people to send us their spam so we can look for cases. We brought 53 cases recently. Congress is working on legislation. We're working with criminal authorities on prosecutions. I know the industry is working to try to block spam. So, this is a problem that we're on the job.

O'BRIEN: All right. We go from one problem to the next, the frying pan to the fire, if you will. All right, thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it very much. Hope everything goes well in the Rose Garden today.

Now, as promised, those numbers and the Web site. First of all, if you'd like to do just do it on the phone, here is the number to call: 888-382-1222. If you want to do it on the Web, it was really easy at about 4:30 this morning. I suspect as the day rolls on, you might have a little trouble hitting this site. But, you know, try it on the off-hours. Donotcall.gov is the place. It's very simple. You can do up to three phone numbers, including a cell phone if you'd like, all in one shot there. So, good luck and enjoy the peace.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.