Aug 4, 2016
I got the same call from this number, someone trying to sell solar products. Here’s how to fight back:
1. First, add all your phone numbers to the national do not call registry (NDNCR) at www.donotcall.gov
2. If you’ve already added your phone numbers to the NDNCR and you still received a solicitation phone call, get as much detail as possible and report it at the www.donotcall.gov website. That’s not enough though, since this government organization actually investigates and brings charges against only a few of the most egregious violators. (They’ve only successfully prosecuted a handful of call centers since the registry started nearly a decade ago. Not a great track record or legacy; but remember, this is the federal government.)
3. While you have the caller on the line, play along as an interested business customer. Get as much information as you can about the organization, such as where the caller is physically calling from, the name/address/phone number of their business organization, and verify spellings.
4. This next step is very important but requires some explanation. Many solicitors who violate the NDNCR operate from large professional call centers (many of them in Florida) who don’t bother to check the NDNCR. They contract with small businesses in every state to make outbound “cold calls” using call lists for that local market. It’s a business arrangement that works well when businesses don’t have the resources or organization to make their own outbound calls. The problem is that many of these call centers *claim* to vet their call lists against the NDNCR, but don’t. (The fact that they call so many numbers on the NDNCR, including yours, is all the evidence you need.) It’s too much of a hassle, and they’d rather take their chances on a lawsuit since the government branch overseeing the NDNCR doesn’t investigate very many cases. So these call centers “roll the dice” and usually keep winning year after year. You need to understand that their business is based on other companies, most of them out of state, outsourcing phone calls to them—good local businesses in your area that trust these large call centers when they say, “Sure, we get our phone lists from reliable sources and they’re all vetted against the NDNCR.” Because these call centers are lying, and entering into fraudulent business agreements with unsuspecting local businesses, and interrupting our personal lives and work with annoying phone calls, we can and should fight back by bringing this to the attention of the business who hire them. So as you continue to engage the caller in conversation, ask about the local company they are calling on behalf of who would actually be fulfilling the business deal (for example, installing the solar panels or insulation). Ask for the company names, web address, and phone number.
5. If all you have is the company name and maybe a web address, investigate the company on the Internet to find a phone number.
6. Report a complaint to the NDNCR at www.donotcall.gov, include the important details, including the local companies that contracted with the call center.
7. Call the local company and ask to speak with someone in management or their legal department. Your initial request may be denied because important people don’t want their work to be interrupted by an unknown caller. Well, neither do you—you’re just returning the favor so they can see what it feels like. Be persistent, even a little bit pushy, and let them know it’s of an urgent nature. I’ve actually pulled a CEO out of a board meeting to talk with him.
8. Ask the person you speak with if they are aware that they have contracted outbound “cold sales” calls to another company. (You can mention that company’s name.)
9. Let them know that the call center making outbound sales calls on their behalf is doing so in violation of national law relating to the NDNCR, and that they have given you this company’s name as the company they are acting in behalf of.
10. Let them know that your personal phone numbers are on the NDNCR, and have been since (whatever date).
11. Recommend that they cease and desist doing business with this call center immediately because doing business with a call center that makes illegal calls in violation of NDNCR is not only poor business practice but could put them at risk of being involved in a lawsuit from the federal government. (Each violation could carry up to a $16,000 fine.)
12. Let them know that if the federal government decides to investigate this complaint against the call center, and they have continued to do business with them even after being notified of their illegal business practices, they may share some culpability.
13. Finally (and perhaps most importantly), copy, SAVE, and share this information with as many people as you can, as often as you can—via email, social media, and any other way that works. The more people that do this, the more illegal call centers will begin to take notice and begin respecting the NDNCR.
Most businesses I’ve spoken with about this are very apologetic and had no idea that the call center they contracted with is acting in violation of the NDNCR. They have told me that they will contact the call center and terminate the business relationship with them.
That is the objective, and that is how you fight back. If enough businesses cancel contracts with call centers who refuse to honor the NDNCR, they will recognize that it’s in their own interest to follow this law and respect those of us who add our numbers to the NDNCR.