Hanging up didn't work. Neither did abandoning calls by setting down the phone and walking away. But Philip Charvat, a Westerville, Ohio, systems analyst, was determined to quash the telemarketing calls that intruded on meals and family time. He's achieved partial success: He still gets calls, but he has pocketed a gratifying $8,000 in compensation.
His weapon is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a little-known federal law that requires telemarketers to put you on a "do not call" list if you ask and dictates that they not call you again during the next 12 months. The law also prohibits any calls before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. and requires that callers volunteer their name, the firm they work for and an address or telephone number.Best of all, each time a telemarketer ignores a provision of the TCPA, you have the right to sue for up to $500.
With more than 300,000 telephone solicitors calling more than 18 million Americans daily, you may wonder why more people haven't taken up the cause. But as Charvat discovered, being a citizen enforcer is a lot of trouble. For starters, Charvat began keeping a detailed log of the telemarketing calls his family received, noting whether the callers identified themselves and keeping track of repeat callers. Then he spent months getting revenge.
For more details on invoking the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, seewww.junkbusters.com, which provides a script you can use when telemarketers call. For a $20 membership fee, Private Citizen (800-288-5865; www.private-citizen.com) will notify 1,500 telemarketing firms that you intend to sue them if they call you -- a potent deterrent.
You can also cut down on the number of calls you receive by sending your name, address and phone number, plus the names of other adults in your household, to Telephone Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735.