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Having just closed on a new house and with the old house for sale, I understand that my information is out there as a promising sales lead. I'm just surprised how many calls I've been getting considering my number is on the federal Do Not Call list. Is there some exception for people who are moving? Or do companies just not care?
They ignore the DNC.
There is not much you can do.
That ^ and they are not selling anything. They are offering you a free estimate. That little tiny difference makes them basically exempt from thecDNC regulations (along with the non profits and freaking politicians).
That ^ and they are not selling anything. They are offering you a free estimate. That little tiny difference makes them basically exempt from thecDNC regulations (along with the non profits and freaking politicians).
I don't think that is a permissible exception. As long as they are attempting to sell something they are required to comply. I don't know if they could bypass the law by never selling anything, but the margins on giving away goods and services are pretty poor.
I'm not surprised that some people are calling, what's surprising is that reputable companies that should know better are calling.
This is interesting. There are some ins and outs to this law. International calls are only exempt when they are relaying information (an example given is cancellation of reservations overseas). But if they tack on a direct or indirect solicitation they are not exempt.
Most business to business sales calls are exempt. Perhaps you use your number for a business also.
Calls to someone they previously did business with are exempt. It appears to be included a person would have to specifically ask to have them not call on the entity-specific do not call list.
That said, yeah, they sometimes make calls they're not supposed to. Oh, there's also even a rule about what is called abandoned calls...those calls where you answer and they don't respond back fast enough or it's dead space.
I'm so over the do not call list. When I get calls multiple times from the same number, I eventually pick up the phone and pretend I can't speak English. That usually does the trick. The other night my teenage son answered the phone with "know the NSA is listening". We haven't heard back from that number (and they've called multiple times previous to that).
If you want them to stop calling get creative and have some fun with it.
I don't think that is a permissible exception. As long as they are attempting to sell something they are required to comply. I don't know if they could bypass the law by never selling anything, but the margins on giving away goods and services are pretty poor.
I'm not surprised that some people are calling, what's surprising is that reputable companies that should know better are calling.
Right, that's not an exception.
I always turn them in to the Do Not Call list. I don't expect it to stop the calls immediately; however, when a major abuser IS caught and convicted (which does happen), all the reports assist in both conviction and punishment - it's $11,000 PER CALL, so the more calls that have been reported, the more it hurts them where it really matters, in the pocketbook.
Making it too expensive to continue is the only way to get them to stop. But that also means that everyone has to not fall for their gab, and there's one born every minute, sadly. If it didn't work on a sufficient number of people, they wouldn't keep doing it.
Having just closed on a new house and with the old house for sale, I understand that my information is out there as a promising sales lead. I'm just surprised how many calls I've been getting considering my number is on the federal Do Not Call list. Is there some exception for people who are moving? Or do companies just not care?
One very large problem is in the contracts and paperwork you are signing. There is a wave of companies now that are offering RE participants a commission, kickback, finders fee, or whatever you want to call it for providing their clients' contact information. These come in the form of "Free" this or that but to get the "Free" item you generally have to agree to allow your contact information to be given to the vendor that is providing the "Free" thing.
Some RE participants are separating out these offers on different forms so that you can clearly see what is going on and just not sign the release if you don't want it. Unfortunately other RE participants bury clauses in their main contract for their services and to accept their services you sign and accept that they will hand out your information. The second method is a favorite with Home Inspectors who are offering all these 90 day warranties, free this or that. Within their contracts is a very generic clause releasing your information to unnamed "Third Party Service Providers" (TPSP) or some other title. Once handed out the TPSP can wind up being many different companies. Or another big method is to hand it out to one TPSP who is nothing more than a marketer for many other companies.
The RE industry is not the only one that is pulling this trick on consumers so you need to be careful what you sign. Unfortunately there are no laws (should be but never will) preventing this type of end around to the DNC. Instead in many instances the vendor whoever they are (credit card company, RE provider, etc.) essentially forces you to later notify them you do not want to be bothered. However once your contact information is out there it is generally to late as you never really know how many times and places it has been distributed to.
There are ways to protect yourself somewhat with some very effective. These are some ideas to use with respect to the original question regarding a home purchase. These can also work in other instances. In a RE purchase you are spending a great deal of money and if you value your privacy these are worth the short term costs.
Most importantly read your contracts and paperwork closely to see if there are mention of providing your contact information to some Third Party Service Provider or others. If it is there then strike it out and refuse that part even if they do not provide you the option to opt out right then and there. You are hiring someone to perform a service and if they want your business then make sure they know they will not get the business with these underhanded techniques.
Don't fall prey to the "Free Monster"! Nothing worth having really is "Free" since you will either pay for it with your contact information and/or further aggravation later. In the Home Inspection industry there are a lot of these 90 day warranties floating around and being used as the "Free Monster". These are generally junk and used as a tool to get your information. If you want a warranty speak with your Agent and they can probably point you to a decent one year warranty that will actually be there when you move in and find the problems.
Before you start looking for a home go out to one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of free email providers and create a new email account to be used for nothing more than this RE purchase or sale. Once you're done shut it down or just ignore it and the service provider will shut it down eventually.
We live off of our cell phones anymore so consider buying a burner phone just long enough to complete the sale and finish any paperwork. There are providers out there that will set you up with a new phone (just a cheap flip phone), no contract monthly service, and a new number for as little as $35 and then $10/month. If it takes you 6 months to find and close on a home that's only $100 to help keep your sanity later. That's well worth the price!
If you follow the two steps above never give out your own cell or home number or personal email address to anyone you're dealing with! Later if you do need to provide any of your personal information (such as mortgage holder for email updates/access/etc.) then you can control who gets it.
You'll never stop the snail mail to your door but hey it makes good kindling to start the log fires in the Winter! It is a shame consumers have to take excessive measures these days to protect their privacy but the DNC is for the most part nothing more than a joke! There are plenty of ways around it and consumers just need to become more aware of how to prevent the problem.
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