COMPANY CLAIMING TO BE AFFILIATED WITH PSEG/JCPL IS BREAKING DNCR and FCC RULES (how much, electric bill)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you for contacting the FCC regarding possible violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and the Commission’s telemarketing and junk fax rules. Information provided in consumer complaints like yours helps the Commission to combat abusive or unlawful practices in these areas, including taking enforcement actions against individuals or companies. In this regard, the Communications Act authorizes the Commission to issue citations and, in some cases, impose substantial fines upon entities that violate telemarketing and junk fax rules.
Although the Commission does not resolve individual complaints, each complaint is individually analyzed and assists us in enforcement actions to protect consumers like yourself. You should be aware that the TCPA also provides for enforcement of the telemarketing and junk fax rules by state attorneys general and by individual consumers. With respect to the latter, the TCPA permits individuals who have received certain unlawful telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each violation.
We invite you to visit the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau’s Internet web site at Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) for more information. You may also call the FCC’s Consumer Center toll free at 1-888-CALL-FCC [1-888-225-5322], TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC [1-888-835-5322].
Sincerely,
Sharon C. Bowers, Division Chief
Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
So basically, the FCC can't really do anything about these calls (more info in my post below). I like the last part of their letter where they inform me I can sue for money. Thank you, FCC. I chuckled. I don't want to sue anyone for money. I want the feds to find these scumbags and fine them, and then use this money to come up with a workable solution to stop these scam tactics.
Regardless, the CALLS DID STOP soon after I received this FCC letter (hope I didn't just jinx myself; knock on wood, fingers crossed, pinch of salt over the shoulder). Not sure what happened, but I'm grateful. Maybe I'm overestimating the powers of my anti-"DISCOUNT CENTER" internet crusade, but I think posting these numbers on every available complaint board and going into detail about the telemarketing scripts, the specific lies that the telemarketer will tell you, Level 3 Communications and how to file a complaint, helped get the calls to stop. For now. Until they come up with a new strategy.
The telemarketers are spoofing their caller ID just like spammer spoof their E-mail headers. And they're operating from outside the US.
File as many complaints as you want, I don't see any sign of government agencies or law enforcement doing anything about it which is why the telemarketing crap has increased so exponentially lately. Nobody in charge cares.
The most recent data from the Federal Trade Commission, charged with enforcing the law, show complaints ballooning—there were 3.8 million in the year ending Sept. 30, compared with 2.3 million just a year earlier.
That shouldn't be surprising, given that fewer companies are even bothering to check the registry—about 28,000 did last year, compared with 52,000 that did in the 2008 fiscal year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madison Patch, Colleen O'Dea
FTC data shows 217 million phone numbers are listed on the registry—the population of the United States is roughly 314 million. New Jersey has roughly 7 million registrants and a population of 8.8 million. Phone owners here lodged 148,000 complaints in the fiscal year that just ended. Those are the seventh largest registration rate and the sixth highest complaint rate of all the states.
However, it's NOT that the FTC doesn't care...it's that they are "powerless", as O'Dea puts it. I guess that means the feds don't have the tech resources and knowledge yet to get a 1-up on these spoofers.
According to the article, the FTC launched a "FTC Robocall Challenge" on October 18, 2012. It's a contest offered to techies in the general public who can come up with a solution for outsmarting robocallers. The winner gets $50,000: FTC Challenges Innovators to Do Battle with Robocallers
Additional useful tip from the article:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madison Patch, Colleen O'Dea
Sen. Linda R. Greenstein (D-Mercer), sponsor of New Jersey's anti-telemarketing law, recently urged people to report telemarketers to the state Division of Consumer Affairs...
Now if they would only ban all the political calls I'm getting hourly.
Political calls are allowed, apparently:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madison Patch, Colleen O'Dea
...political calls are permitted—of course, politicians passed the law—...
However, it seems that at least one NJ politician is (was?) trying to reverse that law:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madison Patch, Colleen O'Dea
Assemblyman David Wolfe (R-Ocean) has introduced A369. But don't hold your breath waiting for it to pass. The measure has been kicking around Trenton for years and, if anything, has gotten less popular—it has no co-sponsors and no Senate version.
Of course, that's New Jersey...your location is listed as New Hampshire...
I've been getting these calls as well, it's pretty infuriating. Moreover, every spam call or text I get eats into my minutes/text plan. That's unacceptable, they're essentially robbing me of service.
We are getting the same calls here, and they specifically say PSE&G, but we do not have an account with that company.
They call as early 9am and as many as 5-6 times per day, the latest around 9pm. It is really getting to be a nuisance.
Unfortunately our callerID broke down, and I do not know what numbers are calling. But the pre-recorded message is nearly identical to what you quoted. It tells us to press zero to find out what incentives we are entitled to, press 5 to opt out of the program, or press zero to speak to a representative.
I'm trying to call PSE&G right now to see if they know anything about this. There is a wait of 19 minutes to speak to a customer service rep at the "real" PSE&G. Are they too being bombarded with these calls?! lol
UPDATE: I called Verizon, and they said without a callerID I may dial *57 to acitivate customer trace, which sends the last number dialed to verizon for reporting purposes. I don't quite understand what they do with it however.
And they also recommended I dial *69 which identified this number to me:
973-273-7843
Calling the number back, you get an automated message that says "you have reached 973-273-7843. To be placed on our do not call list, press 1"
Not sure if I should press it or not?
and PSE&G was supposed to call me back 10 minutes ago. They never called.
I would not press it. I was getting calls too, multiple times a day. I called Verizon and had the numbers blocked (there were 2 of them) and haven't had any calls in 2 months. You can even block them online at Verizon's website without needing to call.
It tells us to press zero to find out what incentives we are entitled to, press 5 to opt out of the program, or press zero to speak to a representative.
Pressing 5 to "opt out of their program" is...unfortunately...fruitless. The calls just keep coming.
I have tried speaking to one of their representatives in order to verbally give them my, "Do not call", request, and they hang up on me.
Short of blocking these calls with your telephone company, there does not appear to be any way to stop these scam artists from calling you.
It's called deregulation....and it's not a scam. People are saving money on their electric bill.
This is actually not the same thing, legitimate companies do exist, but they do not resort to trickery or use tactics like people are discussing here.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
