Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in support of the federal agency’s proposed changes to repeal exemptions related to telemarketing calls and provide protections for negative option products or services.
The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) went into effect in 1995 to help prevent telemarketers from scamming, harassing, or threatening people. The proposed amendments provide protections not previously included in the TSR, including:
- Requiring negative option sellers and telemarketers to provide consumers with notice and the opportunity to cancel before they are billed for negative option products.
- Adding additional recordkeeping requirements for negative sales options.
- Eliminating the TSR exemption for business-to-business phone calls and inbound calls.
The letter, signed by 39 attorneys general, concludes, “By adding a cancelation provision for negative option sales and eliminating TSR exemptions for inbound calls and business-to-business calls, the Commission will provide enhanced protection to consumers and better tools for law enforcement to prevent scams. Although it is understandable that the industry has concerns over how these rule changes will affect them, the minor inconveniences they may encounter will be outweighed by the benefits to consumers we are entrusted to protect.”
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