Representatives from Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, were in Dallas on Thursday pushing for the end of robocalls.
They’re attending a meeting of the Internet Engineers Task Force or IETF.
Some of those engineers are currently developing technology that will block those calls, and Consumers Union is encouraging the development of even more.
Consumers Union also rolled around downtown in a truck with a giant billboard on either side that called for the end of robocalls. They hope to raise awareness and force action.
"We've gotten over 30,000 complaints from consumers about robocalls, and that's more than any other issue,” said Maureen Mahoney a Consumers Union Public Policy Fellow. “We'd like to see the top carriers offer consumers free tools to block robocalls now."
Dallas resident Betty Baldwin gets robocalls so often, she keeps a bicycle horn beside her phone and blasts telemarketers with the horn. The retired marketing and public relations administrator says she sometimes gets as many as 10 calls a day.
"I was being bothered every single day,” Baldwin complained.
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Baldwin is one of thousands who wrote Consumers Union spurring the group’s campaign. It says robocalls cost Americans more than time and frustration.
"An estimated $350 million a year is lost to phone scams, and it's a major quality of life issue as well,” said Mahoney.
Baldwin definitely agrees. She, and the Consumers Union, are looking to the phone companies for help.
"I would love to see the technology built in where these calls cannot come through," said Baldwin.
While the Consumers Union argues the technology is already available to block robocalls, it's waiting on an advisory opinion from the Federal Communications Commission to find out whether phone companies have the legal right to block calls on a large scale.
