Stop Those Unwanted Calls!
Almost every day without fail, clients walk in or call the office at Informed Choice and report that “Medicare” called them about getting more benefits, needing information to send out a new card, or some other issue. Medicare doesn’t call people, they send letters, so these calls are either shady sales tactics where someone is trying to move the clients into another plan; or worse, it could be an attempt to get information to use in some identity theft scheme. Our clients are sometimes reporting up to 10 or more calls each and every day!
If you’re receiving calls and you just want them to stop, there are steps you can take to make that happen, and it’s pretty simple:
Step 1: Register all of your phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry (DNC) either online or over the phone. Your registration does not expire!
Online: www.DoNotCall.gov (You must have an email address to do this as the DNC will send you a verification email once you register your number, and you must open the confirmation email to make the listing active.)
Over the phone: Call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you wish to register.
Once you’re registered, companies that you don’t currently do business with must have your permission before calling you. If you are a current client of a company, for example, a client with a policy you obtained through Informed Choice, the company has permission to call you.
Sometimes, companies that would like to do business with you obtain your consent to call by having you fill out an online form for more information or enter a drawing that has some fine print about giving them permission to call you. Once you’re registered on the DNC list and you get a call from a company that did not have permission to call you, or you get a call prior to 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., it’s time to take the next step.
Step 2: File a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC takes DNC violations VERY seriously and punishes each and every verified violation with up to a $10,000 fine.
Online: http://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov – You can file the complaint right on the site or ask someone with a computer to visit that site and print out a paper form for you.
Four pieces of information are needed for the complaint:
Date of call
Time of call
What number shows up on caller ID?
If you have a phone that is showing SPAM instead of the number, hit the little “I” in the circle, and it will pull up the actual number
Who did the caller identify him/herself as? i.e. Mary from Medicare
The only way to stop the bad operators who continue to violate federal marketing rules is to report violations – the FCC can hit them right in the wallet! Informed Choice is committed to helping our clients and communities in this effort. If you’d like us to present these steps to your group, or would like free brochures explaining this process to hand out at your place of business or community center, please call Renee at Informed Choice at 920-347-4717 or contact your agent.
