Read literally, the proposed amended TSR could be construed to prevent Cox from 

receiving customer billing information acquired by its own contractors or third party sales agents 

through a sale of Cox's own services, if Cox later intended to use this billing information to  up 

sell  customers in a subsequent telemarketing campaign.  The FTC should clarify that this is not 

the intention of the proposed customer billing restrictions contemplated by the amended Rule.  

Whether the information in question is obtained through a transaction conducted by a third party 

sales agent or by a seller's own call center employees, a seller's internal use of its own customer 

billing information for purposes of  up selling,  or otherwise completing a telemarketing 

transaction, does not pose significant risks to consumers.  Consumers who already have 

purchased goods or services through a telemarketing transaction with a particular seller are on 

notice that the seller possesses their credit card number (or other account information) at the time 

they are solicited.  Such customers, accordingly, will not be surprised when the seller uses the 

billing information that they voluntarily have provided to process a second transaction.   

Moreover, the ability of a seller (or a seller's sales agent) to access a customer's historical 

account information during an  up selling  call generally benefits the consumer because it 

speeds the completion of the call, promotes convenience and efficiency, and reduces transaction 

costs.   Of course, Cox would not object to a rule requiring telemarketers to disclose that they are 

in possession of a customer's billing information before they use such information to process a 

payment.  However, a rule that categorically prohibits the disclosure or receipt of customer 

billing information, even among sellers and their third party telemarketing contractor, is far 

broader than necessary to prevent the abuses associated with the  pre acquired account 

telemarketing  scenarios and negative option scams discussed in the NPRM.

98

98

NPRM

, 67 Fed. Reg. 4492, 4512 14. 

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