Are companies conducting surveys allowed to call you after 9 p.m?

[luvwinnie]

i told off two people calling from THE SAME PLACE last night...at 9:15 and 9:30. I know solicitors cannot call after 9 and I HOPE the law applies to surveys also. I told them to NEVER call me again, take me off their list...15 minutes later phone rings. Seriously? I said "I'm asleep, remove me from your list just as I told your coworker who called 15 minutes ago or I'm filing a complaint."

 

[Nolcrest]

We also had someone call the other evening (after 9:00) for a survey. They asked for the youngest adult living in the house. I told her the youngest adult living in the house was sleeping and then I hung up.

 

[luvwinnie]

It's outrageous. Usually I don't pick up but I was so annoyed.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I hate those.

http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=3134

It’s not a violation if it’s a legitimate survey, and they’re not trying to sell anything. The law only prohibits sales calls that try to get you to buy something.

The law that applies is the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). It was originally passed in 1991 to deal with telemarketers, who became a big problem when automated phone dialers became cheaply available.

Among other things, the TCPA prohibits calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., calls using pre-recorded messages, and junk faxes. It also requires telemarketers to honor do not call lists.

At first, the law simply required telemarketers to keep their own do not call lists. Then, in 2003, the Federal Trade Commission began keeping a national do not call list that telemarketers must obey.

But, the TCPA doesn’t apply if: you have “an established business relationship” with the telemarketer, you gave “prior express invitation or permission” for the call, the call’s from a tax-exempt non-profit organizations, or the call is “not made for a commercial purpose.”

That’s why, even if you’re on the do not call list, political candidates can call and solicit your vote with a pre-recorded message, and why you can still get calls from someone conducting a survey. As long as they don’t try to sell you “property, goods, or services,” the calls aren’t for a commercial purpose, and are legal.

However, some “surveys” have turned out to be attempts to evade do not call lists. California sued a Florida company that used responses to a pre-recorded “survey” about home refinancing as an “invitation” to make calls to try to get people to take out new loans.

Besides “surveys,” sweepstakes or free giveaways have also turned out to be ways around the do not call lists. Buried in one soap company’s sweepstakes entry, for example, is fine print stating that by “completing this form, you agree that sponsors and co-sponsors of this Sweepstakes may telephone you, even if your number is found on a do not call registry or list.”

If someone violates the TCPA, you can sue for $500, or $1,500 if they “willfully or knowingly” broke the law. The FTC can also slap someone with fines of up to $11,000 for violating the do not call list.

In a little over a year, about 58 million people have put their phone numbers on the national do not call list. A recent poll found that 92% of those who had signed up got fewer calls after registering, and that 25% got no calls at all.

You can register online at donotcall.gov, or by calling 1-888-382-1222. (You have to call from the number you don’t want called).

 

[cornflake]

i told off two people calling from THE SAME PLACE last night...at 9:15 and 9:30. I know solicitors cannot call after 9 and I HOPE the law applies to surveys also. I told them to NEVER call me again, take me off their list...15 minutes later phone rings. Seriously? I said "I'm asleep, remove me from your list just as I told your coworker who called 15 minutes ago or I'm filing a complaint."

Nope, there's no law and no one to complain to except them.

 

[tasha99]

I get calls from staffing recruiters every week, usually early in the morning, based on some inquiries I made almost a year ago. Last one was at 6 a.m. It's partly because I kept my Oregon phone number, but we're an hour earlier in Alaska. Still, I think 7 is too early for strangers to call.