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Are you a Massachusetts resident who has been harassed with repeated calls from Bernett Research? If so, please write the Massachusetts Attorney General at the address shown below. The response I received to this letter amounted to a commitment to move forward against Bernett if a signficant number of other complainants come forward and file similar, truthful reports. Click here to return to Bill Wood's Blog Pages. Please Do Not Call MeAugust 14, 2006 Attorney General Tom Reilly Office of the Attorney General Consumer Complaint and Information Section One Ashburton Place Boston, Mass. 02108 Subject: Violation of Massachusetts Do Not Call Law Dear Attorney General Reilly: My home telephone number, 617 92X-XXXX, has been registered on the Commonwealth’s Do Not Call List since July 1, 2003. Following is a report of the first significant and repeated abuse I have experienced since making that registration. Based upon the information available at their web site and from calling the telephone number displayed on my caller ID, the company responsible for these calls is Bernett Research. Calling their Idaho telephone number, 208 232-8892, confirms that they are a “survey research company” that calls “randomly generated numbers”. That telephone message goes on to inform that: “We [i.e., Bernett] cannot reveal the names of our clients who sponsor our research projects.” Their web site (bernett.com) states that they are “a profitable, privately-held market research and data collection firm based in Boston”. Since they are a for profit firm who does not disclose their clients’ identities, it is impossible to confirm whether or not the survey they were conducting was in fact “non-commercial” as defined under current Massachusetts law. A little Googling of Bernett Research confirms that they work primarily (if not exclusively) with corporate clients. In short, while it is impossible to determine with absolute certainty, it is highly probable that the survey they were conducting when they called me involved traditional market research on behalf of a corporate for profit client. As such, it is a violation of the Commonwealth’s Do Not Call law. (I presume that if they were in fact representing a qualifying non profit organization that I would have the right to know the name of that organization in order to confirm that they were operating under the law.) Based upon my communications with the FCC, such a call would not be illegal under the Federal Do Not Call law. What is ironic (and in need of immediate remedy) is that this Massachusetts based company is apparently not aware of the Commonwealth’s stricter Do Not Call regulations which clearly prohibit the unsolicited calling of individuals for market surveys which are commercial in nature. Here are the specifics: Between August 10th and August 13th, the Bernett Phone Center of Pocatello, Idaho called my home telephone (at least) six times. (These six instances were all confirmed by reviewing the caller ID records on various telephones on August 13th; it is quite likely that there were other earlier unanswered calls that were no longer available on my caller ID records when the accompanying list was compiled.) In each case recorded on my list, my caller ID indicated that their incoming telephone number was 208 232-8892. I answered the first of the calls shown on this list at 7:09 p.m. on August 10th and was confronted with a live human being who explained that she was conducting a market research survey. I informed her that my number was on the Massachusetts and Federal Do Not Call lists, that I did not take calls such as this, and that they should not call me again. I then hung up. Over the ensuing 72 hour period, Bernett Phone Center called my number four more times based upon my caller ID records. Although I was home when these calls were placed, based upon the caller ID information, I did not answer any of these calls. Following the third of these four unanswered calls, I called their number and left an angry recorded message indicating that if they continued to call me I would file a complaint with the appropriate regulatory authorities. At 6:18 p.m. on August 13th, I received the sixth and last call from Bernett which is recorded on the accompanying list. I took the call. Once again the caller was a live woman who confirmed that she was representing a market research firm. When challenged, she indicated that the market survey she was conducting was fully permissible under applicable Do Not Call laws. I asked her if her organization was a non-profit. Obviously caught off guard by the question, she said “I think so.” I then asked her for the name of the entity holding the 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) registration; after a confused pause, she indicated that she had no idea what I was talking about. I then explained to her that it was illegal under Massachusetts law to place unsolicited calls to home telephones registered on the Commonwealth’s Do Not Call List for the purpose of conducting market surveys unless such surveys were being conducted by or on behalf of a non-profit organization. She affirmed her belief that the call she was making was fully legal under applicable law. While this caller was polite in responding to my anger, I feel that the five additional calls that I received after telling the first caller back on August 10th to stop calling me look a great deal like harassment. Whether or not you agree with this last assertion, if you do agree that Bernett violated applicable Massachusetts law by contacting me in the first place and by continuing to attempt to contact me after being told to stop calling me, I request your help and support in pursuing appropriate legal action against Bernett for its willful and repeated violations of the Commonwealth’s Do Not Call law. Sincerely, |
