Enough is enough. For the last 10 years we have been victimized, and often traumatized, by the sharp proliferation of telemarketing phone calls. When I was younger — and frequently the first person to run and answer the telephone — the so-called “telemarketer” was more often a recruiter from the United States Air Force. After a while I learned how to handle him, I would simply explain the extent of my vision problems and tell him that if I could fly, the F- 15 1 would join. He stopped calling.
Today the telemarketers don’t stop calling. They call in the morning, they call in the afternoon, they call at night, on weekends, and holidays. You tell them no and they keep calling. You tell them you are not interested and they say you must be mistaken. Some get angry, some are just plain rude. But they keep calling at a dizzying pace.
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There are two ways we are handling the nuisance. One is by maintaining an answering machine to screen the calls. Another is by obtaining a second phone number that is unpublished and that you never reveal to anyone except a few family members and friends. You can never disclose the number anywhere or the maddening cycle starts anew.
However, our government can help. Recently the federal government took the first step of creating voluntary “Do Not Call” lists. The rule requires telemarketing companies to remove your number from their list if you request them to. This assumes that while you are telling them that you would prefer to pass on the purchase of their vacuum cleaner, you remember to say the magic words: “Do not call this number again.”
I have proposed a better solution. Last year I introduced, for the first time in our state, an effective and comprehensive bill to address the problem: “The Undesired Telephone Solicitations Act.” I have reintroduced the bill this year and in light of other states beginning to pass similar laws, I am confident that Rhode Island is ready for the act. The bill recognizes the intrusive and relentless invasion of privacy we see from telemarketing firms and seeks to provide each citizen with the right to decide whether or not they want to receive telemarketing phone calls.
The legislation would create a true “Do Not Call” registry that would allow Rhode Islanders to place their phone number on a list to be kept by the Attorney General’s office. If someone wishes to exempt a particular company from the list, they may do so. All telemarketers would be compelled to purchase and review the list so they would know what numbers were off limits. If any telemarketer called a phone number on the list, they would be subject to a fine of $500 and attorney fees, if necessary, to collect the fine. If the telemarketer calls again — $1,000.
Also, I intend to offer an amendment that would allow the Attorney General’s office to prosecute violations of the law. The addition would give the Attorney General the authority to fine telemarketers or drive habitual offenders out of business.
At least a dozen states, including Connecticut and New York, have recently passed similar legislation. Please write to your legislators and ask them to support bill 2001-H 5463.
Rep. H. Norman Knickle represents District 37 in Warwick. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1998.
