Ben Livingston
5329 7th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115

My name is Ben Livingston. I am seeking damages of $1,500 and court fees from Seattle Auto Glass, a Washington State corporation located at 21619 Highway 99, Lynwood, WA 98036, for three violations of RCW 80.36.400.

RCW 80.36.400
Automatic dialing and announcing device -- Commercial solicitation by.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) An automatic dialing and announcing device is a device which automatically dials telephone numbers and plays a recorded message once a connection is made.
(b) Commercial solicitation means the unsolicited initiation of a telephone conversation for the purpose of encouraging a person to purchase property, goods, or services.
(2) No person may use an automatic dialing and announcing device for purposes of commercial solicitation. This section applies to all commercial solicitation intended to be received by telephone customers within the state.
(3) A violation of this section is a violation of chapter 19.86 RCW. It shall be presumed that damages to the recipient of commercial solicitations made using an automatic dialing and announcing device are five hundred dollars.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the Washington utilities and transportation commission from adopting additional rules regulating automatic dialing and announcing devices.

On Wednesday, January 17, 2001, I received a call around mid-afternoon. A pre-recorded voice introduced himself as "George from Seattle Auto Glass," told me about their free window repair and their $25 gift certificate for Tony Roma's, and instructed me to press the number 9 if I was interested in this offer. I pressed 9 and asked the operator for her manager.

I asked the manager, Eric, for the name and address of his company and he told me it was Seattle Auto Glass with the address 21619 Highway 99, Lynwood, WA 98036. I asked if Seattle Auto Glass was the company doing the actual calling, and he said yes, that their telemarketing is in-house. I asked if he was aware that their pre-recorded calls are illegal and he told me that as long as the person called can press a number to reach an operator, the calls are legal. I disagreed with this and he further intimated that the Attorney General had stated this very fact.

"I'm not the owner. All I know is they've been in contact with the Attorney General on several occasions. They've been in business for a long time so it must be okay."

I had a hunch that Eric was, at best, misinformed and, at worst, lying, so I called the Attorney General's office and spoke with Regina Cullin of their Seattle office. Regina said that the Attorney General would not have told Seattle Auto Glass any such thing. "We don't give out opinions. That is not the Attorney General's policy," she told me. She seemed to take interest in the fact that Seattle Auto Glass had tried to represent such a thing, though I don't know if she called them up to chastise them.

Three weeks later, on Friday, February 9, 2001, I received another call from pre-recorded "George from Seattle Auto Glass," offering the same windshield repair and Tony Roma's gift certificate. I pressed 9 and asked the operator for the name and address of the company calling. She gave me the same name and address as Eric from the first call.

On Tuesday, March 6, 2001, I received yet another call from pre-recorded "George from Seattle Auto Glass," same deal as before. I pressed 9 to speak with an operator and asked for the name and address of the company calling. She gave me the same name and address as the previous two calls. After this call, I filed a complaint online with the Attorney General. Attached is a copy of the response the Attorney General received from Seattle Auto Glass regarding my complaint.

RCW 80.36.400 presumes the damages for a violation of that section to be $500. I am seeking $1,500 in damages as well as $24.74 in filing and service fees from Seattle Auto Glass, Inc. for three violations of that law.

I hereby declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Washington and the United States that the above statement is true and correct.

Dated: May 30, 2001

Ben Livingston