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Recently, the FCC Consumer Center has noticed an increase
in complaints and inquiries from consumers who have received calls about
renewing their automobile warranties. During the calls, which are usually
automated or pre-recorded, the consumer is told that the warranty on his or
her automobile is about to expire and is instructed to press a number to renew
it. The callers often pose as representatives of a car dealer or manufacturer,
and may or may not have specific information about the consumer’s particular
car and warranty.
Many of these calls may violate FCC Do-Not-Call rules.
And many may actually be fraudulent—if you press a certain number or stay on
the line, you may be asked to provide several types of personal information,
including your credit card number, which can be used to defraud unwary
consumers.
The Federal Trade Commission recently filed suit in
federal court against companies suspected of making these calls. The FCC also
investigates potential violations of FCC rules, and some states and telephone
companies have sued companies that make these types of calls.
The FCC’s Rules
If you have placed your residential wired telephone
number or your personal wireless phone number on the National Do-Not-Call list
and you receive one of these calls, from anyone other than a business that
sold you the car or repaired it, that call may violate the FCC’s Do-Not-Call
rules. In addition, if you receive one of these calls on a wireless device,
and the call is pre-recorded or placed using an autodialer, it may also
violate the FCC’s rules unless you have given your prior consent to be called.
In addition, anyone making a telephone solicitation call
to your home number must provide his or her name, the name of the person or
entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or
address at which that person or entity can be contacted. If the call is a
pre-recorded message, it must include a contact telephone number. Without
these disclosures, the call violates FCC rules.
If you have caller ID, a telemarketer is required to
transmit or display its phone number and, if available, its name or the name
and phone number of the company for which it is selling products. The display
must include a phone number that you can call during regular business hours to
ask that the company no longer call you. This rule applies even if you have a
previously-established business relationship with the company, and even if you
have not registered your home phone number(s) on the national Do-Not-Call
list.
For complete information on all the FCC’s rules regarding
telephone solicitations, see our consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html.
What to Do If You Receive an Auto Warranty Call
First, do not provide any personal information, such
as social security numbers, credit card information, driver’s license numbers,
or bank account information to the caller. Telephone scammers are good at
what they do and may imply that they work for a company you trust.
Second, if you have certain information about the call or
caller, you can file a complaint with the FCC. In some cases, the FCC can
issue warning citations and impose fines against companies violating or
suspected of violating the do-not-call rules, but the FCC does not award
individual damages. The FCC needs to know certain details about the call and
as much information about the caller, including name and telephone number, as
you can provide. Therefore, be sure to fill out the on-line complaint form
fully, or see the list of information to include with your complaint on the
FCC consumer fact sheet. There is no charge for filing a complaint. The
easiest method is to use the FCC’s on-line complaint form found on the FCC Web
site at
esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. A series of questions will take you to
the correct form and section of the form for providing the information the FCC
needs to process a complaint. You can also file your complaint with the FCC’s
Consumer Center by e-mailing fccinfo@fcc.gov;
calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554.
Some states permit you to file law suits in state court
against persons or entities violating the do-not-call rules. You may be
awarded $500 in damages or actual monetary loss, whichever is greater. The
amount may be tripled if you are able to show that the caller violated the
rules willfully and knowingly. Filing a complaint with the FCC does not
prevent you from also bringing a suit in state court.
If you think you have received a call involving fraud,
you may also want to complain to the Federal Trade Commission. Visit the
Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at
www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls.shtm for information about their efforts
to stop auto warranty scams. You can file a complaint with the FTC online at
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. You can also submit a complaint by
calling the FTC toll-free at 1-877-382-4357 (voice) or 1-866-653-4261 (TTY),
or writing to:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580.
For More Information
For more information about unwanted telephone marketing
calls or the do-not-call rules, visit the FCC’s Web site at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/telemarketing.html or
www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall/. For information about other telecommunications
issues, visit the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at
www.fcc.gov/cgb, or contact the FCC’s Consumer Center by
using the information provided for filing a complaint.
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Federal Communications Commission · Consumer
& Governmental Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. ·
Washington, DC 20554 |
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1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) ·
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) · Fax: 1-866-418-0232 · www.fcc.gov/cgb/
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