Public Service Announcement

So, you took the effort to get yourself placed on the National Do Not Call list. Now you won’t get any more unsolicited calls, right?

Guess again.

The law has a number of loopholes that allow for unwanted calls. Political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors are still allowed to call. In addition, one other group will be making calls, legally. Let’s take a closer look at that last one.

If you have a pre-existing business relationship with a company, that company may call you up to 18 months after your last purchase or payment. (You may explicitly opt-out immediately, upon demand, similar to how things work today).

New business opportunity, anyone? It seems that the aforementioned relationship may be instituted by something as seemingly innocuous as filling out a survey. Get a coupon for free soda in the mail? Look closely, you may be allowing the company, as a condition of delivering the free goods, to contact you via the telephone, for purposes of soliciting additional business.

Find out more at the Snopes Urban Legend site, and keep your eyes open; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!