Penalties??
Of course they are handed over to our wonderful government. Those who were robo-called (I got one today) and actually suffered probably won't get a cent.
The FCC gets the $$$ and we peons just get more robo-calls.
US broadband watchdog the FCC has issued the largest robocalling fine in its history to a Florida company accused of repeatedly harassing people. The commission has levied a $2.96m penalty against Travel Club Marketing, which was accused of making at least 185 automated calls using a robo-dialer. According to the FCC, Travel …
Here's a hint, companies: if we haven't bought your product, it's most likely because we're not interested.
When we want something, whether it's a new phone or a slitting saw or a paraglider or an insurance policy, the vast majority of us will actively search and compare for it: we neither need nor want it shoving in our face. Whether it is online adverts - fortunately, easily blocked - or haranguing us in the streets, or the appallingly rude assumption that a private communications device is intended as an advertising channel for you, it is unwanted and unwelcome.
The reporting in the UK is that cold calling sells only to the vulnerable: the old, the easily confused, and people unable to make a decision for themselves. I don't see any reason to believe it would be any different in other countries. The mark of a civilised society is how it protects such people, and the ability of these bottom feeders still to exist pushing unwanted, unnecessary, and often sub-standard products suggests that we are not, as yet, civilised.
A curse on all their houses.
20 years ago a Marketing exec was telling me about her bold mailing campaign, and how a 2% return would be a good result.
Not defending it, but I suspect that with the costs now so much less (no stamps, no printing) the return expected is orders of magnitude smaller to still get a "successful" campaign.
"20 years ago a Marketing exec was telling me about her bold mailing campaign, and how a 2% return would be a good result."
Did you ask her if that was net or gross? Every customer pissed off & lost should be set against the number of customers gained. Marketroids don't think about this of course. They daren't.
Yeah, it's a shame almost no one actually makes FCC complaints, despite a fairly well done website to help file such complaints.
It got my ISP a beatin' a while back. I filed about the DNS records going to ads instead of failures, which screwed up a samba script. They responded with "everyone does it. suck it." so I made a further complaint saying essentially "so my ISP says if all my friends jump off a roof, I should too..." and the FCC fined them for not having an opt-out for the DNS bit.
It must be nice having a proper regulator with teeth! One day this week in the UK, I had nine telemarketing calls. All of them anonymous, of course, so no way to file a complaint against the offending entity - high time that facility was removed, or at least restricted and charged for to prevent abuse.
(Yes, I do have a little PBX I'm going to hook to the line any day now to intercept all the anonymous calls and feed them to voicemail - but why should we have to go to these lengths?!)