[Vision2020] Thinking of Subscribing to a Local Newspaper? BEWARE of Telemarketing Gig

[Dave]

I don't know if it is true, but I was told that before the 
do-not-call-registry Idaho had (has?) a very powerful mechanism for 
dealing with telemarketers. That is if you inform them that you do not 
want to be called, and they call again (this all has to be documented of 
course, audio is OK) then you can sue them in small claims court for, I 
think, $200.

I was actually thinking of making a side job doing this.  They ain't 
going to show up to defend themselves, so it would be a slam dunk.

Dave


On 12/18/2010 12:24 AM, Saundra Lund wrote:
> Visionaries:
>
> Please note that I'm cc'ing this to the pertinent folks at the Daily News,
> not that I expect a response (the Daily News certainly hasn't risen to
> challenge to provide quantitatively equal coverage to non-NSA&  non-Logos
> area schools).
>
> Close to four months ago, I decided to give the Daily News another try after
> reading some wonderful editorials folks posted here from the new editor.  I
> wanted to give it a fair shot but was unwilling to go back to an annual
> subscription, so I subscribed to the online version for three months.
>
> I'm used to getting renewal notices when subscriptions are about to expire
> rather than taking personal responsibility<g>  to put a reminder note on my
> calendar, which was apparently an error on my part.  My subscription ran out
> over the Thanksgiving holiday, which I didn't notice right away until I
> tried to log in a few days later.
>
> Not a problem, I thought -- I just went through the renew process online,
> which seemed to go smoothly according to the messages throughout the
> process.
>
> Except that my subscription didn't restart as it should have on the date the
> system gave.  No biggie, I thought -- I just sent an email to the Daily News
> on 12/3&  included screen shots that indicated the process was successful.
>
> I've not received a response.  At least my bank account hasn't been debited!
>
> If the saga ended there, I'd likely not be posting now.
>
> However, since my subscription expired&  my renewal apparently didn't take,
> I've been plagued by phone calls from a telemarketing outfit called West
> Park Direct (216-589-0214) that TPC Holdings (owner of the Lewiston Tribune
> &  the Moscow-Pullman Daily News) contracts with.
>
> When your subscription ends for any reason, TPC turns over your name&  phone
> number to West Park Direct to try to get you to subscribe again, and then
> even God can't help you.  You can look forward to endless calls from West
> Park Direct until hell freezes over.  Less than a month after my
> subscription ended, I've given up trying to keep count of how many calls
> we've received.
>
> And, I just loved this part:  even though we've been enrolled in the Do Not
> Call Registry since its inception, calls from West Park Direct are exempt
> because I was STUPID enough to do business with the Daily News, which thinks
> it's OK to give out my name&  phone number to West Park Direct, so West Park
> Direct has free reign to call me for the next 18 MONTHS before I can file a
> complaint with the FCC to get them to STOP calling.
>
> I cannot tell y'all how DISGUSTED I am.  We pay for phone service for OUR
> convenience, not so that we can be harassed by a NATIONAL telemarketer on
> behalf of a  LOCAL businesses we entrusted our personal information to.
>
> IMO, the Daily News ought to be ashamed for giving over former customer
> information to telemarketers, and current subscribers should be aware that
> should you decide to stop subscribing, you, too, can look forward to
> telemarketing phone calls.
>
> For those thinking of subscribing, BEWARE!  Pay in cash&  refuse to give a
> name or phone number -- demand that your subscription be tied to your
> address only or else be prepared to be hounded from the depths of hell by
> telemarketing phone calls.
>
> And please be sure to spread the word.  I've gone through everything I can
> find with a fine-toothed comb, and NO WHERE do I find any disclosure that
> TPC Holdings will turn over our personal information to a flippin'
> TELEMARKETER!
>
>
> Saundra Lund
> Moscow, ID
>
> The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
> nothing.
> ~ Edmund Burke
>
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