I was telemarked to by a telemarketing company to resubscribe to a magazine I used to subscribe to. I clearly have an established relationship with the magazine company. But I was called by a seperate telemarketing company on "behalf" of the magazine company.

This is an interesting twist to established business relationship. I had a relationship with the magazine company, not the telemarketing company. The magazine company cannot give my permission to call me.

What do you think?

Thanks.

It is legal for companies to hire other marketers to advertise on their behalf. But here is what I would do.

First, ask the magazine company AND the telemarketing company for a copy of their "Do-Not-Call" (DNC) policy. BOTH the marketer and the vendor must have written DNC policies.

Probably the marketing company will ignore you. The magazine company will probably tell you that they comply with all laws and that is their policy.

I would call the marketng company, and talk to someone in management and tell him that you are planning a lawsuit for their failure to provide a policy. They will probably deny or threaten you with something (like a countersuit or whatever.)

Then I would drop the bomb! I would then say something like this:

"Hello Mr. President of the marketing company, I wasn't planning to sue you since you are not the responsible party. I was planning to sue YOUR CLIENT (the magazine company), even though you failed to provide a copy of your policy, they are responsible since they hired you.

"The purpose of my call was to offer you a chance to settle this drectly before I file suit and involve your client. What would you like to do?"

The answer is that they will usually ask for confidentially and send a check.

Let me know how it goes.

Bob Arkow
Bob@telemarketingwatch.org

The company I've been talking to resides outside my county and state for that matter. So taking them to small claims is out of the question. I'm a bit intimitated to go to the big court. Since I actually enjoyed the magazine they were trying to sell I talked them into a complimentary subscription. So it wasn't the $500 I could have gotten. I did get a copy of their no-call policy.

It was the first time I've ever received a copy of a no-call policy. Every other telemarketer I've dealt with were clueless about the law.

The practice of contracting other businesses to do telemarketing seems like a slippery slope. With this in mind a company I do business with could sell my name and I could be telemarketed to for just about anything. If they were closer to home, I'd be tempted to test it in court. This company in particular failed to register as a nocall vendor. Which means I couldn't sue them for calling, but I could for not registering.

Thanks,
Rob

Have you had luck asking for a check and getting it? I've always had to take them to court to get it. I think I should have thought bigger. I like the idea of involving the hiring company.

Thanks,
Rob

Have you had luck asking for a check and getting it? I've always had to take them to court to get it. I think I should have thought bigger. I like the idea of involving the hiring company.

Thanks,
Rob