# This guy makes a living suing telemarketers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209 "2005-07-26T13:01:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/1 "2005-07-26T13:01:28Z")
[Make $100K a year sitting on your duff.](http://www.foxchicago.com/_ezpost/data/20061.shtml) > [@](#): > > Swanberg can turn an annoying call into cash. And he does it by taking advantage of the federal do-not-call law. > > \ > > He records every telemarketing call that comes in to one of his eight phone lines. Each recording is possible evidence to use in court. > > \ > > Swanberg sends the company a copy of the conversation, along with a letter detailing how the call was a violation of federal law. He tells them they can settle the matter or meet him in court. A few weeks later there’s a $1,500 check in his mailbox. > > \ > > To make sure the calls keep coming, Swanberg gives out his phone number to every contest or sweepstakes he can find. Typically, that’s how telemarketers get their call lists. Clearly this guy is baiting the telemarketers, but I have a hard time feeling sorry for them. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/2 "2005-07-26T13:07:58Z")
They should follow the do-not-call list, regardless of how they get the number. Fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/3 "2005-07-26T13:45:50Z")
Except the way they get the number often makes the call exempt from do not call legislation. If you’ve done business with a company in the last 18 months, do not call does not apply. Filling out a sweepstakes entry may in some cases qualify as a pre-existing business relationship. Additionally, non profit organizations are exempt, as are political entities, and do not call list only apply to residential numbers. If your number is listed as a business number (even a home business), it is ineligible for protection under do not call legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/4 "2005-07-26T14:07:15Z")
Well, there’s no indication from the article that he’s making money from calls that are exempt from the do-not-call registry. (But it is FOX news, so can we trust it? 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/5 "2005-07-26T15:33:56Z")
> [@SuperNelson](#): > > Except the way they get the number often makes the call exempt from do not call legislation. If you’ve done business with a company in the last 18 months, do not call does not apply. Filling out a sweepstakes entry may in some cases qualify as a pre-existing business relationship. OK, but you give your number to company Y for their “win a boat” sweepstakes. They, in turn ,sell your number to company X, who’s job it is to get long lists of telephone numbers to sell to telemarketing companies A, B, C, and D. So if A, B, C, and D call you, they are still in violation of the do not call list, because you never did business with them, you did business with Y (I’ll assume that neither A, B, C, or D are affiliated in any way with Y.) However, if company Y calls you, then yeah, they aren’t in violoation of the list. Seems like a smart idea, at first. But eventually, he could get slapped with a counter-suit for something or other, especially if he IS called by company Y, and they prove they have done business. Plus, my bet is that these companies have much bigger and bwetter lawyers than he does, so if onne finalyl deicdes to jsut take the time and actually go to court rather than settle, he might be up the creek without some sort or rowing apparatus, as they say. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/6 "2005-07-26T19:49:41Z")
This man is my hero. I intend to name all my children after him. Maybe other people’s children, too. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/7 "2005-07-26T20:10:18Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > OK, but you give your number to company Y for their “win a boat” sweepstakes. They, in turn ,sell your number to company X, who’s job it is to get long lists of telephone numbers to sell to telemarketing companies A, B, C, and D. So if A, B, C, and D call you, they are still in violation of the do not call list, because you never did business with them, you did business with Y (I’ll assume that neither A, B, C, or D are affiliated in any way with Y.) However, if company Y calls you, then yeah, they aren’t in violoation of the list. I’m not sure if this applies or not, but when you enter a sweepstakes, there is usually a huge list of “rules and regulations”… lots of fine print, etc. Online, you often have to check a little box that says you have read and understood the rules and regulations; by mail, just submitting the form binds you to their rules. I know of quite a few people who enter these things, check the box, but didn’t bother reading the thing at all. A quick scan through one of my old roomie’s beloved contest forms showed me, at least on that one in particular, within the “agreement” was a statement along the lines of: “It is okay for other businesses to contact me with offers and surveys” etc. I’m only assuming here, but wouldn’t many other contests sneak little things like that into the rules? If the guy is entering contests on purpose, I would think that many times he’s just signing his information away. I think you are right; one of these days, one of those companies is going to want to eliminate this little “pest”, whip out the contract he signed or checked the box of, and knock the poor guy over. I don’t like telemarketers either, and there are some legitimate lawsuits against them (though sometimes it seems a bit [tedious](http://www.panix.com/~eck/telemarket.html#prop), for both you and the courts), but this guy might be just asking for trouble. Set me straight, Dopers, if I’m off track, I’m riding only on assumptions and little concrete knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/8 "2005-07-26T20:18:12Z")
Asking for trouble how? If the big telemarketing corporation with the deep pockets and team of rabid lawyers thinks that they don’t have to pay, they can always call his bluff. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/9 "2005-07-26T20:19:11Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > I’m only assuming here, but wouldn’t many other contests sneak little things like that into the rules? If the guy is entering contests on purpose, I would think that many times he’s just signing his information away. I think you are right; one of these days, one of those companies is going to want to eliminate this little “pest”, whip out the contract he signed or checked the box of, and knock the poor guy over. Yes, but just because he authorizes them to give out his number, doesn’t mean he has done any busniess with those companies that had the number sold to them. He still only did business with that first company. And I beleive the do not call list is suppossed to superseed and sort of thign where your number is given away to another company. Again, I’m not saying he won’t eventually get in trouble, or taht he will, I’m jsut saying there do seem to be several loophoels he is using, and it might not belong before one of those loophoels is cinched tight with his neck firmly inside. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/10 "2005-07-26T20:22:02Z")
That’s absolutely horrible. He should be sentenced to ten lashings. With a wet noodle. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/11 "2005-07-26T20:22:22Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Plus, my bet is that these companies have much bigger and bwetter lawyers than he does, so if onne finalyl deicdes to jsut take the time and actually go to court rather than settle, he might be up the creek without some sort or rowing apparatus, as they say. I would bet that you would guess (partially) wrong. A telemarketing company is just a bunch of jerks with phones and a few support staff in a warehouse somewhere. I can’t imagine they have some massive litigation infrastructure like a pharma or consumer products company might. They probably have an in-house counsel or two who’s job it is to handle employment disputes, make sure the vendor contracts are ok and keep the company just inside the law. $1500 is cheap compared to what it would cost to pay for lawyers (or a company like mine) to dig through the records to somehow try and prove that they didn’t violate the no-call law (which they did) or that this guy was somehow trying to defraud or extort money from them (which he isn’t…kinda). ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/12 "2005-07-26T20:31:45Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > Asking for trouble how? If the big telemarketing corporation with the deep pockets and team of rabid lawyers thinks that they don’t have to pay, they can always call his bluff. It sounded better to me then “before someone says ‘ah, no, you checked the little box.’” Hyperbole and melodrama on my part. 😃 Apologies. Hey, if this guy can continue suing them, great! I’m behind him all the way. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/13 "2005-07-26T22:10:26Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can legally threaten to sue whomever you want, right? I mean, even if some of those companies didn’t violate the no call law, if they’re dumb enough to settle despite the fact that he has no case, then I don’t see how he could get in trouble. He’s not even lying to them, so long as he genuinely believes that he would have grounds to sue them. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/14 "2005-07-27T17:49:56Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can legally threaten to sue whomever you want, right? No. I don’t believe that is true. I don’t have a cite though. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-makes-a-living-suing-telemarketers/314209/15 "2005-07-27T18:12:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > No. I don’t believe that is true. I don’t have a cite though. You are right, it’s the crime of _ **barratry** _, but I’m sure all sorts of terms and conditions apply… [Linky…](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barratry)