| 'Do Not Call' Cola Giveaway Scam | |||
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| Netlore Archive: Email flier warns that by submitting a mail-in form to choose your favorite cola, you grant telemarketers consent to contact you even if your name is on the National Do Not Call Registry | |||
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Email example contributed by R. Entinger, 24 July 2003:
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Subject: Important DO NOT CALL LIST This is to all of you that signed up for the "do not call" law. This week I received a card in the mail that looked alright. It said "vote for your favorite cola - Pepsi or Coke- and receive a complementary 12 pack" It didn't look suspicious--but for some reason I kept looking at it. THEN I FOUND IT !! At the bottom of the card there is a VERY small statement. It is SO small it is hard to read--but here is what it says---- "By completing this form, you agree that sponsors and co-sponsors of this offer may telephone you , even if your number is found on a do not call registry or list " This REALLY upset me and I just wanted all my friends to be aware of this way to get around the "do not call" law !! Just think how many people will send this in and their do not call registry will be NO GOOD !! The company's name is MARKET SOLUTION. Please send this to all your friends that signed up for "Do Not Call Registry". I think this is just one of what we will get in the future--so READ EVERYTHING Before you SIGN AND SEND !! AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT!!!! PLEASE!!! |
Comments: I've not been able to verify that the cola giveaway described above actually exists, but the email alert is worth heeding in any case, given that similar legal language now appears in the rules and conditions of other promotional contests and giveaways. Though it's inaccurate to label it a "scam," such provisions are apparently designed to take advantage of loopholes in the law behind the anti-telemarketing Do Not Call Registry. Those loopholes are described as follows in the FTC's Q&A page:
Even if you put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, a company with which you have an established business relationship may call you for up to 18 months after your last purchase or delivery from it, or your last payment to it, unless you ask the company not to call again. (In that case, the company must honor your request not to call. If they subsequently call you again, they may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.) Also, if you make an inquiry to a company or submit an application to it, for three months afterwards the company can call you. If you make a specific request to that company not to call you, however, then the company may not call you, even if you have an established business relationship with that company.
Sources and further reading:
Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
Federal Trade Commission Consumer AlertEmail Alert: National Do Not Call Registry
Netlore ArchiveAnti-Telemarketing List Now Open for Registration
About.com: U.S. Government Info/Resources
Last updated: 07/29/03
