Making Telemarkerters Pay - In Cash

[133724]

When André-Tascha Lammé was granted a judgment of $3,500 last month in a Sacramento, Calif., small claims court, he heard gasps.

“You could hear people in the courtroom saying, ‘You can sue telemarketers?’” he said. You can. In fact, you can make some decent cash for your trouble.

Lammé started getting pelted with calls from mortgage brokers last year, just as his adjustable rate mortgage was about to reset. Like many consumers, he quickly reached the boiling point over the frequent interruptions. But unlike many consumers, the computer programmer took the time to educate himself – perhaps owing to the spirit of his grandmother, a lawyer for several decades – and quickly discovered the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

“It specifically deals with unwanted calls,” he said. “For each violation, there is a $500 penalty.” Who gets that money? The call recipient. Lammé read on and found he didn’t have to hire a high-priced attorney to pursue the penalty fees – he could file the case himself.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/02/suing_telemarke.html

[TlalocW]

1. I missed out on $500

But I scared the crap out of some early-20-year-old kid once. For whatever reason, he called my cell phone twice in two days (this was before the national do-not-call list), and I told him to put me on his company's do-not-call list. He called me back the next day, and I recognized his voice, and I told him so and reminded him that not only did I tell him to put me on the list, but he was also calling my cell phone, and his company now owed me $500.00.

He gasped and quickly hung up.

TlalocW

[The Straight Story]

2. Hmmm does it protect you if the call is from overseas?

I might be getting a fortune :)

[Booster]

3. One kept calling me almost every day and finally I said I was

going to report them and they said "you go right ahead". I went to the website to report them and the first thing I was asked for was their phone number which I didn't have. I get, on an average, 20 calls a day and when my answer machine comes on they hang up. I might start answering the damn thing and make a little money if I can. I'm retired so the extra cash would be welcome.