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Do Not Call Violations Top State’s Consumer Complaint List
January 5, 2015
Hate those annoying telemarketing calls? You are not alone. Complaints about violations of Florida’s “Do Not Call” laws tops the list of the top 10 consumer complaints released by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Consumers filed more than 44,000 complaints with the department’s consumer assistance center in 2014. The top 10 most common complaints from January 1 through December 22 were:
- Do Not Call – 18,067
- Fuel/Petroleum – 2,193
- Cable – 1,921
- Telemarketing – 1,813
- Motor Vehicle Sales – 1,697
- Credit/Banking – 1,659
- Communications – 1,588
- Motor Vehicle Repair – 1,488
- Landlord/Tenant – 1,328
- Travel/Vacation Plans – 1,271
Complaints about violators of the state’s Do Not Call list are actually down by four percent this year. Over the past year, Do Not Call complaints have resulted in the collection of more than $430,000 in administrative fines.
Comments
10 Responses to “Do Not Call Violations Top State’s Consumer Complaint List”
The Department of Agriculture is officially the Department of Agriculture AND CONSUMER SERVICES. That’s why they handle this.
Steve….as it turns out I have gotten several calls from AT&T wanting to “bundle” my t.v., internet, etc…..No thanks, have the landline as an emergency backup but not sure it is really needed anymore.
Heard in a discussion that AT&T would really like to do away with all landline services. Not sure that’s true though…?
ATT could stop or block these unwanted calls if they really wanted to do so. Think about it though, ATT and others make alot of money off the telemarketers and other annoying callers. If there were a good enough reason they would do it, We have the technology to do so.
re: Bob C, thanks for the info. signed up again.
Telemarketing is an archaic form of marketing that is fading pretty fast, anyway. Most reputable companies have gotten it through their skulls that most people, the millennial generation especially, absolutely hate not only marketing calls…but phone calls in general. The generations prior were enamored with telephone calls because it was new technology…from the early 1900s through the late 80s, phone calls were the rage. Then the scammers came out in force, and better, less invasive technology took root.
It’s one thing if your bank calls you to alert you to an emergency with your account…it’s something else entirely when some person with a sales quota is ringing your phone off the hook trying to get you to buy crap you don’t want.
Try the do not call website, has worked pretty well for me. If I do get a call I politely tell them that I am on the DNC list and if they call this number again I will turn them into the FTC. Usually works well for me.
Sam….register online at:
http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Consumer-Services/Consumer-Resources/Consumer-Protection/Florida-Do-Not-Call
This is through the Fla Dept of Agriculture and Nope cannot explain why that department has this responsibility.
annoying is a polite word for having to put up with these calls. alarm companies, political ads, and surveys. all should be stopped. i have tried 3 times to call the do not call # and get on the list. what a joke. if you tell the callers to stop they say they will take you off their list. doesn’t happen.
I find the political phone calls are quite annoying. I think if one is a registered voter, this negates the “do not call” list?
For one, I am darn glad the Political Deluge of “Vote for ME..!!!!” junk calls is over for a while. My Lord, the phone recorder would be full of candidates begging for my vote. Wish we could file against each of them for their calls…..