Subject: A telemarketing phone call from a Popular Photography representative (7/14/04)

Date: July 14, 2004 9:13:05 PM EDT

To: popphoto@neodata.com

Dear Editor of Popular Photography and Imaging,

On this day, 14 July 2004, I received a telemarking phone call from someone representing your company.

And this happened despite:

a. this phone number being listed in the Federal "Do Not Call" registry,

b. and on the Direct Marketer's Preference Association "Do Not Call" list

c. and me purposefully never providing your company with my phone number.

Yes, I know about the "preexisting relationship" telemarketing loophole in the Federal Law, so technically speaking you're not in violation of the law.

But I don't care.

This call was the first telephone contact that we have ever had, so your actions of looking up my phone number so that you could initiate a solicitation under the guise of a functionally non-existent telephonic relationship is an unethically duplicitous contrivance.

And since it is clearly not what this customer wanted, I consider it to be horrifically bad customer service.

Therefore:

1) Promptly put all telephone numbers that you have for me and my family on your "DO NOT CALL" list.

2) You are hereby formally notified that this email communication serves as your first and last notice that if anyone who claims to be a representative of your company ever telephones me at home again, I will promptly cancel ALL of my magazine subscriptions from your Publisher (Hachette Filipacchi Media, Inc.), and I will consider filing for legal damages against your company to the fullest extent permitted by all applicable State and Federal laws.

If you have figured out by now that I do not under any circumstances wish to be telephoned, congratulations! You are not as stupid as the Business Executives at your office who approved this (IMO unethical) business practice and who, in my personal opinion, should be summarily fired for such a grave error in judgment.

From a layman's perspective, I consider it to be a flat-out lie to claim that we had (or have) a preexisting oral communication based relationship that would permit you to initiate a telephone call to me. Similarly, my wishes to not ever be called at home for solicitations (no matter how contrived as legal) are clear by my actions of registering my telephone numbers and by me not ever providing it to you. Overall, your action of allowing me to be telephoned has "pissed me off" and has caused me pain and suffering, which can only become greater if you make the mistake of telephoning me again, ever, against my most explicit wishes and directions not to call.

If you wish to have the reward of my continued business, do not ever allow this to happen again.

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