Back in the day, telemarketing companies and telemarketers themselves used a device known as an autodialer, which would go through number sequences and calling those numbers and playing a pre-recorded message. Basically this did the telemarketers job without the rejection and cursing that many telemarketers probably face today. However in 1991 (until today), it has been illegal for companies to use autodialers to reach out to cellphones but a new bill introduced to Congress is looking to turn things around and legalize the use of autodialers.
The new bill which has been dubbed the Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011, is seeking to make legal the use of autodialers to call cellphones. It seems that those who are favoring this new bill come from the banking industry, and they are claiming that they will use this new bill to pass along new information to their customers in a timely manner. They are also saying that since about 40% of Americans use their cellphones as their primary or only means of communication, this would be a good way to reach out to their customers.
Granted there could be urgent information that bank customers would like to know from time to time, but it would not be a stretch of the imagination to see banks trying to find a loophole and attempt to slip in some telemarketing in the meantime. Would this bill be a yay or nay for you?
Filed in Congress.
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