Act to save Wisconsin's tough Do Not Call List

[sybylla]

From a press release by the Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection
http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/press_release/result.jsp?prid=1647

07-08-2005
No Call List under multiple attacks!
Contact: Glen Loyd
608-224-5007

Governor Jim Doyle is asking for your help again in the fight against telemarketers threatening your privacy. In January, almost 7,000 Wisconsin consumers responded to the governor's request to tell the federal government to leave the state's No Call List alone.

"Telemarketers are once again asking the federal government to strip Wisconsin's Do Not Call Law of important provisions that protect more than 80 percent of state residents," says Governor Doyle. "If the most recent petition is granted, Wisconsin will lose its right to protect its citizens from intrusive interstate telemarketing calls."

Earlier, the Consumer Banker's Association (CBA) petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to declare that Wisconsin's Do Not Call Law is pre-empted by the weaker federal Do Not Call Law. This would allow any business -- long distance telephone and credit card companies, for example -- to reinstate incessant calls to reclaim customers in Wisconsin. Also, if you buy a product from a company, any of its affiliates will be able to call you to telemarket any of their products.

Now a coalition of telemarketing firms and non-profit corporations who use telemarketers has petitioned the FCC to declare that states have no ability to regulate interstate telemarketing, only intrastate telemarketing. Such a declaration would allow telemartketers to avoid state regulation merely by calling from outside the state, which would effectively end state regulation of telemarketing entirely.

What you can do to save the No Call List

"If we want to continue to keep our home phones quiet, we must take a strong stand and tell the FCC to leave our law alone," says Governor Doyle.

"We need to make certain that the FCC puts consumers, not big telemarketers, first."

"Consumers wanting to keep Wisconsin's law strong are urged to contact the Federal Communications Commission.?


* Send a brief comment to the FCC at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/8bmob

* Or write a letter and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection will deliver it for you:.



No Call List, Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708.


For more information, call the toll free hotline of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: 1-800-422-7128.

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More trashing of state's rights brought to you by the chimp on behalf of his uberrich friends.

edited to add tiny url

[Massacure]

1. Phone lines are buried in Wisconsin's soil right?

Put a 10 cent tax on every telemarketing call that uses a phone line buried in Wisconsin.

[sybylla]

2. Brilliant!

I'll ring up my puke rep and senator to see what they think. :crazy:

[RevCheesehead]

3. That IS brilliant!

But I would also see it as a last-resort thing - let's fight the federal/interstate thing first, and pull this out as a response.

[ewagner]

4. My e-mail

As I understood it, States had the right to pass their own, more stringent, DO NOT CALL provisions. We are extremely satisfied with the way the list is working now. The number of annoying dinner-time calls has reduced to near zero. If for some reason, the Federal Government chooses to intercede and weaken the provisions of the Wisconsin DO NOT CALL LAW, I will personally petition my Congressman, David Obey, to take retaliation out of the your budget.

Meddling by the FCC/ECFS is not appreciated. It is unwarranted.

signed

[LiberalFighter]

5. Since the Consumer Bankers Association petitioned...

call your banker and complain to them

Bank Members

Wisconsin Petition

CBA has also filed petitions against Indiana and New Jersey