A new Web site, http://www.EveryCall.us, is collecting FCC do-not-call complaints.
“If you’re like me, you don’t always answer the phone when you don’t recognize the caller’s number,” founder Ben Sharpe said in a statement. “And sometimes you even get multiple calls from the same strange number, which usually ends up being a telemarketer or other direct marketing company. Even if your number is on the FCC’s Do-Not-Call list or you have asked for telemarketers to remove your number from their list, the calls still may persist.”
According to EveryCall, “to use the service, consumers type in a phone number, then view general information about who owns it, contact information, and any prior complaints. Users may add their complaint to the website and contact the company directly to never call again. Consumers can learn about the worst offending companies and how to take additional steps to keep telemarketers at bay.”
EveryCall.us claims to work “with the efforts of Federal agencies, such as the FCC, to augment the Do-Not-Call registry and to provide adequate information for public action.” It does note that “[t]he Do-Not-Call legislation allows for political calls and solicitations from businesses which claim to have a prior relationship with consumers, both of which many consumers would rather live without. EveryCall.us identifies those callers and provides consumers with a course of action to stop calls from interrupting family dinners.”
The Skeptic’s Take: As is the case with much1 consumer-generated media, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of control over who can contribute to this – meaning that while a given number might not appear in the FCC’s database, there’s nothing stopping someone from entering competitors’ numbers on this site. And like a lot of consumer-generated media, there’s an awful lot of chaff surrounding the wheat within the site’s comments area. Long story short: Vigilantism is ugly – and can be irresponsibly dangerous.
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