Why are charitable organizations allowed to call cell phone numbers for sale?

[edward]

Even when we put our home phone numbers on the no call list, charitable organizations are still allowed to call. It looks like we are about to go through the same thing with our cell phones.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3479517&page=1

 

[scorpa]

I would be pretty pissed off if anything like that called my cell phone. Cell phones are expensive enough as it is without having useless calls like that adding expense and using up your minutes.

 

[Evo]

You can add your cell phone to the Do Not Call List.

 

[JasonRox]

Thank god no one calls me for **** yet. I'd freaking flip out and change my number.

 

[FredGarvin]

Once again showing that telemarketers are the scum of humanity, only slightly above developers.

 

[Moonbear]

It'll be cell carriers who will have to address this one, because I know I'll be insisting they reverse any and all airtime usage charges or fees if I start getting my airtime used up by telemarketers or charity calls. It's a whole different ballgame than calling landlines, where the caller pays for the call, not the person receiving it. On a landline, it's a nuisance, but I'm not paying if a charity calls. On a cellphone, it does use my airtime that I pay for in limited quantities based on my usage if someone calls me, so unless they start making airtime free for received calls, they're going to hear a lot of complaints letting such calls through. I had one phone where I got spam via text message. I made my carrier reverse the charge on every single one of those messages. I told them I wasn't going to pay just because their system didn't have a way to filter that crap out.

 

[edward]

You can add your cell phone to the Do Not Call List.

You will still get calls from charitable organization. Lately I have been getting about 4 everyday. I have given to a number of charities over the years. And it appears that even the charities have supplied other charities with my info. Acually even most charities use boiler room type call centers to do their solicitations.

For instance last year I sent a donation to the Fraternal Order of Police. That was a big mistake, now I am getting calls from organizations associated with the Fire dept, the local Sheriff's dept, and the State Police Benevolence Fund.

 

[edward]

It'll be cell carriers who will have to address this one, because I know I'll be insisting they reverse any and all airtime usage charges or fees if I start getting my airtime used up by telemarketers or charity calls. It's a whole different ballgame than calling landlines, where the caller pays for the call, not the person receiving it. On a landline, it's a nuisance, but I'm not paying if a charity calls. On a cellphone, it does use my airtime that I pay for in limited quantities based on my usage if someone calls me, so unless they start making airtime free for received calls, they're going to hear a lot of complaints letting such calls through. I had one phone where I got spam via text message. I made my carrier reverse the charge on every single one of those messages. I told them I wasn't going to pay just because their system didn't have a way to filter that crap out.

It is bad enough that private unlisted phone numbers are being sold. Intelius also buys it's data base from any place or business that you may have given your number to. yep, even your mechanic.

In 06 a blog bought an entire month of General Wesley Clark's cell phone record for $89.

http://www.americablog.com/2006/01/americablog-just-bought-general-wesley.html

 

[Evo]

It'll be cell carriers who will have to address this one, because I know I'll be insisting they reverse any and all airtime usage charges or fees if I start getting my airtime used up by telemarketers or charity calls. It's a whole different ballgame than calling landlines, where the caller pays for the call, not the person receiving it. On a landline, it's a nuisance, but I'm not paying if a charity calls. On a cellphone, it does use my airtime that I pay for in limited quantities based on my usage if someone calls me, so unless they start making airtime free for received calls, they're going to hear a lot of complaints letting such calls through. I had one phone where I got spam via text message. I made my carrier reverse the charge on every single one of those messages. I told them I wasn't going to pay just because their system didn't have a way to filter that crap out.

The cellphone companies don't approve of it either, and where they may make a one time adjustment as a courtesy, they will not do it on an ongoing basis. It is not their fault if a consumer gave their number to someone unscrupulous that would sell it. As long as it is deemed legal by the FCC, they cannot block the calls, but since last year consumers have been able to add their cell phone numbers to the Do Not Call lists, I registered my cell and my daughters. Consumers need to let their elected officials know that laws need to be enacted to stop this.

 

[Moonbear]

It is not their fault if a consumer gave their number to someone unscrupulous that would sell it.

If they expect me to use the cellphone, I have to be able to give out the number, and if I can't even trust the mechanic, that's the cell phone company's problem if they're going to charge me for incoming calls from people I did NOT give my number to. If they have no way to block calls from anyone except people I give my number to, then don't charge me airtime for receiving those calls. It's that simple, at least from my perspective as a consumer. I can just as easily give up the cell phone if they don't want to concede on that. I think it's ridiculous to be charged anything for incoming calls anyway, which is why I only give out my number to a few people who need to reach me when I'm not going to be near a landline. If a telemarketer wants to call my cellphone, charge them for the call and airtime, not me. It's fully within the ability of phone companies to change their billing structure to deal with this.

I don't see how a cellphone should be any different from a landline anyway in terms of how telemarketing calls are regulated. If it applies to one, it should apply to another. I don't think charities should be allowed to call me either if I haven't requested information from them.

If I donate to a charity and they contact me more than once a year for further donations, I stop donating.

I had a similar experience as edward with a donation to the Fraternal Order of Police sparking an onslaught of donations. When the original charity called the next time, I told them quite bluntly that since every other charity on the planet seems to have my number since they received a donation from me, I no longer have anything to donate to them. I suggest others take the same approach. If they want to fund their organization selling phone lists, then they don't need our donations, and if enough people tell them the same thing, they'll get the message pretty quickly that it's going to hurt their fundraising to sell off phone numbers.

 

[Evo]

I don't see how a cellphone should be any different from a landline anyway in terms of how telemarketing calls are regulated. If it applies to one, it should apply to another.

It is the same, register your cell phone with the Do No Call Registry - http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall

Cell Phones
You may place your personal cell phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. The registry has accepted cell phone numbers since it opened for registrations in June 2003. There is no deadline to register a home or cell phone number on the Registry.

You may have received an email telling you that your cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database; however, that is not the case. Federal Communications Commission regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers.

It still doesn't prevent manual dialing of your cell phone number.

I don't think charities should be allowed to call me either if I haven't requested information from them.

They were exempted by law, which is wrong.

 

[edward]

It is the same, register your cell phone with the Do No Call Registry - http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall

It still doesn't prevent manual dialing of your cell phone number.

They were exempted by law, which is wrong.

Thanks for posting the do not call web site. I was just about to start looking for it.