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Menu/Specials Faxing Beware

J

josh

New member
I am sure many Think Tank members are aware of the perils of junk faxing. However, I talk to pizzeria owners/operators all day and am constantly amazed by the large quantity of them who tell me that they still fax their menus/specials to businesses. Simply put, you can get sued for doing this (unless your distribution list members have opted in to receive these faxes) and many lawyers out there are like ambulance chasers for people that send these faxes. Please read the attached letter that a close friend of mine recently received at his pizzeria. I am not sure why he received this letter but scary stuff if you are currently participating in this type of advertiisng.
All that said, please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer by any stretch and am not giving anyone legal advise here.

Regards,
Josh Davis
VP Sales Mail Shark
(Cell) 484-269-3715
http://www.themailshark.com
 
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Now you must ask… “How many politicians have law degrees?” :idea:
 
I get a dozen or more junk faxes a week, normally people wanting me to borrow money from them or people wanting to sell me a vacation package. I grumble and throw them away. Never thought of suing them. If I save enough of them and sue I may be able to retire.
 
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The laws* for what constitutes an “Established Business Relationship” are pretty broad: http://www.fcc.gov/guides/fax-advertising
…a fax advertisement may be sent to an EBR customer if the sender also:
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obtains the fax number directly from the recipient, through, for example, an application, contact information form or membership renewal form; or

obtains the fax number from the recipient’s own directory, advertisement, or site on the Internet, unless the recipient has noted on such materials that it does not accept unsolicited advertisements at the fax number in question; or

has taken reasonable steps to verify that the recipient consented to have the number listed, if obtained from a directory or other source of information compiled by a third party.
There’s a lot of rules about opting out and other stuff on there. As with e-mail marketing, I think that employing an experienced 3rd party to do your faxing is the way to keep yourself out of trouble.

*Obviously, this is U.S. law.
 
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obtains the fax number from the recipient’s own directory, advertisement, or site on the Internet, unless the recipient has noted on such materials that it does not accept unsolicited advertisements at the fax number in question; or
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I have seen ads on craigslist offering to buy “business card collections”. Is this the reason? Would a fax number on someones business card constitute it being " Obtained from the recipients own advertisement"?
 
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Either way these lawyers are so agressive sending out marketing like this, even if you won a lawsuit, it will no doubt cost you time, lawyers fees and a bit of uneeded stress.
 
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This is silly—the letter posted here says the pizza joint is a member of the CLASS, not the defendant in the class. That’s been ignored here.

Yes, all the information posted has been good, and it is something to think about as a business, but realize that we can be harmed just as much as we are likely to do harm.
 
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I just want to know what happens if I send a fax response to this law office? :shock:
 
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