State law will restrict telemarketers

|tab|

Don't call us, we'll call ... the attorney general. That's the message Missouri's new No Call Law is sending to telemarketing firms that fail to abide by its restrictions.|ret||ret||tab|

More than 125,000 Missouri households are registered on Attorney General Jay Nixon's no-call list, according to Jake Cardetti, a spokesman for Nixon's office. |ret||ret||tab|

The creation of the list is a key part of Missouri's No Call Law, which was enacted during the 2000 session and may be enforced by July 1, 2001, Cardetti said.|ret||ret||tab|

Under the law, telemarketing companies that call residential numbers on the no-call list could pay as much as $5,000 per violation in civil penalties.|ret||ret||tab|

The list will be made available May 1, 2001, and each quarter thereafter for a fee of $25 per quarter.|ret||ret||tab|

But Hank Seevers, regional director of Apex Marketing, a telemarketing company with a call center at 1839 E. Independence, Ste. K, said he isn't too concerned with the effects of Missouri's No Call Law.|ret||ret||tab|

"The bulk of our calling is out-of-state anyhow, and a lot of states that we call into already have those laws and we are used to working within those laws and abiding by those laws in other states," Seevers said.|ret||ret||tab|

Apex Marketing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfield Communities Inc., which has time-share vacation resorts across the country, including one in Branson. Seevers said Apex has several call centers in the United States, and the company's corporate office in Little Rock, Ark., obtains and maintains no-call lists from all states where the company does calling.|ret||ret||tab|

He said Apex also maintains its own do-not-call list.|ret||ret||tab|

"If someone tells us personally that they do not want to be called again by our company, we maintain a database of those phone numbers and run those against our data on a regular basis," Seevers said.|ret||ret||tab|

"The computer does all of the washing out' of the do-not-call numbers, so there's very little chance that we call someone who is on the do-not-call lists," he added.|ret||ret||tab|

Cardetti noted that some telemarketing calls are exempt from Missouri's No Call Law.|ret||ret||tab|

"Telephone companies are one of the exemptions. Another one is those companies that have a current business relationship (with the call recipient) so, if you take your car in to get some work done on it, and they're going to call you back ... then sure, they're going to be able to give you a call back," Cardetti said.|ret||ret||tab|

He added that credit card companies also will be able to call existing customers about adding to or changing their service without breaking the No Call Law.|ret||ret||tab|

Cardetti said when residents fill out their names and telephone numbers on contest entry forms, the companies that collect the forms can call those residents without being penalized, even if the residents are on the no-call list.|ret||ret||tab|

Cardetti said because so many people are signing up for the no-call list, Nixon's office will ask the legislature to look again at the exemptions during the 2001 legislative session.|ret||ret||tab|

Cardetti said any telemarketing company that calls into Missouri is responsible for getting, and abiding by, the no-call list.|ret||ret||tab|

He said during the last few weeks, representatives from Nixon's office have been traveling across the state to meet with senior citizens and make sure they're aware of the new law. One stop was the Southside Senior Center, 2215 S. Fremont, Dec. 12.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our consumer hotline takes thousands of calls each year, and it just seems like the last few years, there's an increasing amount of telemarketing complaints and ... we found a lot of these telemarketing companies are targeting seniors, especially," Cardetti said.|ret||ret||tab|

Seevers said there are telemarketing companies out there that might not follow the rules, but Apex does. The companies that don't follow the rule tend to give all telemarketers a bad name, he added.|ret||ret||tab|

"I'm not sure folks realize how much a company such as ours contributes to the local economy where these call centers are located. We have a payroll of around $7 million a year, which is pretty significant," Seevers said.|ret||ret||tab|

Apex's Springfield call center can employ as many as 443 people, and Seevers said the center's staff is at about 90 percent of capacity.|ret||ret||tab|

"(Telemarketing) is a way of advertising. We have a product to offer. We don't shove it down anybody's throat if they're not interested ... it's just a form of advertising, such as newspaper, radio, television, magazines," Seevers said.|ret||ret||tab|

Missouri residents can sign up for the no-call list by calling 866-662-2551, or by visiting the Web site of the Missouri Attorney General's Office at |bold_on|www.moago.org.|ret||ret||tab|

[[In-content Ad]]