Dish Telemarketing Woes
I feel bad for Dish Network, as today they were sued by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly violating the Do Not Call Registry laws.
I also feel sorry for the thousands of independent Dish Network retailers around the country as ultimately they will be the ones blamed for the lawsuit.
From where I sit chances are very good that Dish Network themselves did not violate the Do Not Call laws, but instead a handful of independent dealers probably did.
As someone who deals in satellite I am always emailed by companies wanting to telemarket Dish Network for me. They say they have large call centers and can drive up business for an amazingly low cost. Now most retailers know the rules set by Dish on telemarketing, but some of these small dealers need sales and money so bad they take advantage of these offers.
Unfortunately these retailers will soon be looking for new lines of work. This has been a serious issue for dish over the past few years and now I expect them to be really… really serious about it. A lawsuit from the FTC is does no one any good.
I myself have been called by these companies trying to sell me Dish Network before. When I have received these calls their caller ID displayed Dish Network on the screen with a valid Dish Network phone number. However I could tell it was not Dish Network calling, as besides not speaking English very well they also didn’t know the product they were trying to sell. And when I started asking too many questions they hung up on me.
While the problem here is the dealer looking to make a sale anyway they can the other issue here is a misuse of technology. Telephone spoofing is running rapid these days, with the correct equipment and know-how it is very easy to spoof the caller ID of any number.
Should Dish Network be sued because some telemarketing firm which is out in India is calling consumers in the United States and spoofing their caller ID to make it look like its really Dish Network calling?
The spoofing issue is a serious one and its one that companies have no control over.
But with that said again it still comes down to a few retailers who are doing what they can to make a buck in today’s tough economy. Its does not make it right, but most of these folks don’t think about these issues when they are in a bind.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court.
Jonx commented:
Yea it's a little concerning when somebody does this.
I was lucky enough to find this service that tracks the caller ID and posted it on my squidoo blog. It provided me with the information of the person who contacted me and I could then take necessary measures.
Check it out at my squidoo blog:
www.squidoo.com/access_reverse_phone_lookup
Henry commented:
Dish should be blamed, and I hope they get punished. Given almost everyone hates telemarketing, is it really a wise business decision to use it ? I wonder if they look at whether the revenue brought in can even cover the commission, not to mention the negative pr on the company.
Jim commented:
There are brokers trying to get any body and every body to do this kind of work on a pay for performance basis. They don\’t care if the call centers are in India, the Dominican, the US or wherever. And they don\’t care about compliance. All they care about are their commissions. They won\’t provide in-house Do-Not-Call lists, let alone proof of registration or proof of purchase for the various Do-Not-Call lists. Heck yes Dish should be held accountable! Their contracts with Independent Dealers should most certainly obligate them to comply with the rules because Dish\’s brand is at stake. Those contracts should also call for the independent dealers to indemnify Dish so that they have some skin in the game. Dish should be able to collect fines as well as revoke their reseller license if they don\’t comply.
Alietr commented:
Ah, but here\’s the key part:
Since it began enforcing Do Not Call rules, the FTC has brought complaints against 119 companies and 86 individuals and collected $17.5 million in penalties plus $11 million in money paid to consumers or for education programs. Katz said the suit against Dish Network is the first that wasn’t simultaneously settled by the defendant.
My 2 Cents commented:
Since Caller ID Spoofing is running rapid these days, then all the telephone providers should have an anti-spoofing technology in place and not the calls get to their customers. Also, if it isn\’t illegal already to Spoof Caller ID, it should be made illegal.
