Lately, we’ve been inundated with those extremely annoying (in fact, I would say rage-inducing) telemarketing calls consisting of nothing more than a recorded message. Because it’s a recorded message and not a real human being, there’s no way to request to be put on the organization’s do-not-call list unless you call the number they give at the end of the message.
I was venting about this to MrWhatsit earlier, and he said that what he wants to do the next time he answers the phone and gets one of these, is to say, “May I record this message? Since you haven’t answered my question, I’ll assume that I can. I am now recording this message. Please place me on your do-not-call list.” He then would hang up, and if the company called him again within 7 years (or however long the law says they have to refrain from calling you) he would sue them for violating the Telephone Privacy Act (cannot remember exact name; know it exists; do not have time to Google it right now).
Would this tactic work, even theoretically, or would it just get laughed straight out of court?