Going on the offensive against robocalls
Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, on Wednesday said it wants the nation's top phone companies to give consumers the ability to block robocalls, and it's looking for support to press them into action.
The group said Americans' frustration with being bombarded by auto-dialed calls, many of which are scams, has reached a breaking point. Consumers Union said the campaign seeks to take advantage of that frustration by getting consumers to put their names on a petition at www.endrobocalls.org intended to get Verizon (VZ), CenturyLink (CTL) and AT&T (T) to provide free call-blocking technology.
"Americans are sick and tired of robocallers that invade their homes and try to rip them off with predatory scams," Consumers Union attorney Christina Tetreault said in a statement. "It's time for phone companies to stop dragging their feet and empower consumers to put an end to unwanted robocalls."
Consumers Union said more than 75,000 people have already signed on.
Although the national Do Not Call registry operated by the Federal Trade Commission was set up to slash annoying marketing calls to consumers, these rogue robocalling operations have persisted. Many, with prerecorded announcements about lowering interest rates or "free" vacations, have led consumers to suffer losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Consumers Union said the technology exists to stop these calls before they reach people's homes, but that phone companies have resisted providing the tools. The phone carrier trade association has said blocking all robocalls would exceed the phone companies' legal authority. But Consumers Union has been arguing that giving consumers the option is well within the boundaries.
The consumer group made a filing with the Federal Communications Commission last month pointing out that putting such technology in the hands of consumers is legal.
"We've heard from thousands of consumers across the country frustrated by the daily onslaught of robocalls that interrupt their lives and target them with fraudulent scams," said Tetreault. "Phone companies need to step up and provide their customers with relief. Consumers should be given the option of using call-blocking technologies to end unwanted robocalls."
