The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and UCAN
Launch the Pre-Recorded Telemarketing Calls Project

• Are you fed up with receiving pre-recorded telemarketing calls?
• Do you live in Southern California?
• Help us gather evidence for possible legal and legislative action.

Here are typical scenarios.

• The phone rings. You rush to the phone, expecting a call from a friend. But instead, you're greeted with a canned message offering you a timeshare or a special deal on cell phone service.
   
• You arrive home after a long day at work and retrieve your voice mail messages, only to hear a long-winded prerecorded spiel pitching you a deal on home siding.

What's wrong with this picture? Did you know that pre-recorded messages are a violation of federal law? And if the telemarketer is a company in California, did you know that all such calls must be introduced with a "live" person asking you if you want to listen to a recorded message?

Yet, telemarketers blatantly ignore these federal and state laws. Millions of canned sales pitches are delivered to households each and every day.

Both the Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse have received an increasing number of complaints about pre-recorded sales calls. We are consumer advocacy organizations based in San Diego, working together to make a difference.

UCAN and the PRC are now tracking consumers' complaints about pre-recorded telemarketing calls. If you have received such calls and want to help us, please visit the UCAN web site at the link posted below and fill out a form about each call you receive. With the data that we collect from Southern California consumers, we will work with state legislators and with attorneys to bring legal action against the most abusive telemarketers.

Here's the web link on the UCAN web site where you can document the pre-recorded sales calls you receive. www.ucan.org/consumer_info/TMproject.htm

You must be a resident of San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, or San Bernardino Counties to participate in this project.

Thank you for helping us track and take action against telemarketers who invade our homes with illegal pre-recorded sales calls.

Copyright © 2002-2005. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse/UCAN. This copyrighted document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit, educational purposes only. For distribution, see our copyright and reprint guidelines. The text of this document may not be altered without express authorization of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. This document should be used as an information source and not as legal advice. PRC documents contain information about federal laws as well as some California-specific information. Laws in other states may vary. Overall, our information is applicable to consumers nationwide.