Has Linda called you?

If you too are being harassed by Capital One then you know what I am taking about.  For others an automated voice message is left on your answering machine once a day.  Linda says:

"Hi. This is Linda. We have some opportunities that can be available to you at Capital One. Please call me back today at 1(800) 955-6600 to discuss them. Thank you." Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems and Artificial or Prerecorded Voice Calls The FCC has specific rules for automatic telephone dialing systems, also known as “autodialers.” These devices can be particularly annoying and generate many consumer complaints. The rules regarding automatically dialed and prerecorded calls apply whether or not you have registered your home phone number(s) on the national Do-Not-Call list. Autodialers can produce, store, and dial telephone numbers using a random or sequential number generator. They often place artificial (computerized) or prerecorded voice calls. The use of autodialers, including predictive dialers, often results in abandoned calls – hang-ups or “dead air.” Except for emergency calls or calls made with the prior express consent of the person being called, autodialers and any artificial or prerecorded voice messages may not be used to contact numbers assigned to: any emergency telephone line; the telephone line of any guest or patient room at a hospital, health care facility, home for the elderly, or similar establishment; a paging service, wireless phone service (including both voice calls and text messages), or other commercial mobile radio service; or any other service for which the person being called would be charged for the call. Calls using artificial or prerecorded voice messages – including those that do not use autodialers – may not be made to home phone numbers except for: emergency calls needed to ensure the consumer’s health and safety; calls for which you have given prior express consent; non-commercial calls; calls that don’t include or introduce any unsolicited advertisements or constitute telephone solicitations; calls by, or on behalf of, tax-exempt non-profit organizations; or calls from entities with which you have an EBR. In addition, the FCC’s rules prohibit the use of autodialers in a way that ties up two or more lines of a multi-line business at the same time. All artificial or prerecorded telephone messages must state, at the beginning, the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call. If a business is responsible for initiating the call, the name under which the entity is registered to conduct business with the State Corporation Commission (or comparable regulatory authority) must be stated. During or after the message, the caller must give the telephone number (other than that of the autodialer or prerecorded message player that placed the call) of the business, other entity, or individual that made the call so that you can call during regular business hours to ask that the company no longer call you. The number provided may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance charges. Autodialers that deliver a recorded message must release the called party’s telephone line within five seconds of the time that the calling system receives notification that the called party’s line has hung up. In some areas, you could experience a delay before you can get a dial tone again. Your local telephone company can tell you if there is a delay in your area. Telemarketers must ensure that predictive dialers abandon no more than three percent of all calls placed and answered by a person. A call will be considered "abandoned" if it is not transferred to a live sales agent within two seconds of the recipient's greeting.  http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html