Friday, August 12, 2011
Do Not Call, Revisited
Several years ago the state of Indiana passed one of the nation’s strongest Do Not Call laws, and home telephones stopped ringing at dinnertime. No longer could companies make unsolicited sales calls if a person had taken the simple step of signing up for the Do Not Call list. If a family dinner were going to be disrupted we’d have to light the fireworks ourselves.
Of course certain companies kicked and screamed and swore that their businesses were being destroyed and their freedoms stolen away. Lawyers and lobbyists hopped into action, agencies and elected officials were wooed and pressured, but the Indiana law held. For years, a beautiful evening silence prevailed in the land. If something rang out at dinnertime, it was probably a young person’s body piercings jangling as family members chortled together over the events of their day.
But perhaps, like me, you have noticed a certain backsliding, a certain ugly old demon creeping back in. Credit companies have started to call again. Some pushy little businesses in Florida, it seems, are testing and poking to see if Indiana is serious about its wonderful privacy law.
The calls open with a recording: “Time is running out on this special offer—just press 9 to speak to a representative before it is too late.” Sometimes I do press 9 because I’d like their employees to know that the call is against the law. I might ask, “Hey, you aren’t in Indiana, are you?” When the person says Florida or somewhere overseas, I say, “Whew, that’s good, because what you’re doing is actually against the law in the state of Indiana.” One caller seemed genuinely astounded—“I’ve been working here six months—why has nobody said this before today?” “After work this evening,” I said in my friendliest voice, “visit the Attorney General’s website and you’ll easily find out the truth.“
That state website is also where you register a complaint. If you’ve received a call you can enter the date and time, the caller’s phone number if you have it, and you help build up the evidence of this growing problem. I registered a call there a couple of months ago and said that I would be willing to testify in court. They asked me if I had a recording of the conversation, but I did not. Luckily, the calls just keep on coming, and now I do have a recording. Picture me racing to turn on my computer when I recognize that voice at the start of a sales call. Recently I offered the Attorney General’s office five juicy minutes of high fidelity interstate lies and obfuscations, but all I got in return was a form letter. That makes me a bit pessimistic about the future of our proud Do Not Call law, but who knows, maybe the Hoosier state has already lawyered up and headed south to do battle with—well, I had better not say the company’s name in case they have a lawyer themselves. I’m thinking the rotten, two-faced prevaricators have to keep one or two lawyers on retainer, don’t you? By the way, if you run into some of our fellow Americans who think government is evil, just tell them about the beauty of a strong Do Not Call law and a vigorous, well-funded attorney general to defend it.
[Check out the audio link below if you’d like to hear an alarming portion of an actual call to our house from this sort of telemarketer. The call begins at 3:30.]
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A random pick from more than 460 Michiana Chronicles -- refresh the browser to see another set:
April Lidinsky -- More essays by April
Joe Chaney -- More essays by Joe
Ken Smith -- Do Not Call, Revisited / More essays by Ken
Jeanette Saddler Taylor -- More essays by Jeanette
Heather Curlee Novak -- More essays by Heather
David James -- More essays by David
Elizabeth Van Jacob -- More essays by Elizabeth
Jeff Nixa -- More essays by Jeff
Louise Collins -- More essays by Louise
Jonathan Nashel -- More essays by Jonathan
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About the series
Michiana Chronicles is a series of radio essays by Jonathan Nashel, Louise Collins, Joe Chaney, Jeanette Saddler Taylor, Jeff Nixa, April Lidinsky, Ken Smith, Heather Curlee Novak, David James, and Elizabeth Van Jacob.
Michiana is the region of north-central Indiana and southern Michigan roughly centered on South Bend, Indiana.
Michiana Chronicles airs on Fridays at 7:35 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on WVPE (88.1 FM), the home of public radio in Elkhart / South Bend, Indiana.
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