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Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554

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Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of the ) Rules and Regulations ) Implementing the Telephone ) CG Docket No. 02-278 Consumer Protection Act of ) 1991 ) Reply Comments of Joe Shields on the Assurance IQ LLC Petition For Expedited Declaratory Ruling I write to the Commission in reply to the comments of Healthcare Inc. and others that support the Assurance petition. The comments are not a true representative of how Healthcare Inc. operates. Healthcare Inc. is nothing more than a marketer that lures consumers, or anyone else for that matter, into submitting personal information on their website without any verification of the identity of the individual that is submitting the personal information. Without such verification Healthcare Inc. is aiding and abetting in “Online Impersonation” a 3rd degree felony in the State of Texas. I do not make such accusation lightly – I have personally experienced online impersonation on their website healthcare.com. As far as I know the fabricated consent could have been fabricated by an employee of Healthcare Inc. that submitted my name and phone number on their employers website. Assurance Petition Reply Comment 7/6/2020 page 1 of 14 On December 20th, 2018 I began receiving automatically dialed calls from one of the 1,892 clients of Healthcare Inc. without my prior express consent. The 1st call was routed to my voicemail because I was on a call at the time. The call spoofed an active local number 2816881031 and rudely no voicemail was left clearly indicating the use of an autodialing device. On the same day one and a half hours later another automatically dialed call was made to my cell phone number spoofing the same active local number 2816881031. I answered the call and was confronted with a fraudulent claim that I had made an online inquiry for assistance with Medicare Supplement Plans. The caller stated they were license in Texas and that the call was being recorded. I replied that I was also recording the call and that I had not made any such inquiry. The caller replied again fraudulently claiming that my email address was used. That email address was not even a real email address as emails to that address bounced with an undeliverable response. The caller then rudely hung up on me after stating he would disposition the call as “not interested” before I could make a do not call demand. The next day at 09:13 a.m. yet another automatically dialed call was made to my cell phone number without my prior express consent. This time a new local number Assurance Petition Reply Comment 7/6/2020 page 2 of 14 2815022455 was spoofed. It was the same Healthcare Inc. client that had called twice the day before. This call was the third in less than 24 hours. I confronted the caller about the calls the day before and I was again told my personal information was “…inputted over the internet.” During this call I was able to make a do not call demand and got a response that “removal” (not placing my number on a DNC list) “…takes up to thirty days…” Obviously this was another lie as the caller can easily disposition the call in their automatic dialer as no call which blocks further calls to my number instantly. I sent Healthcare Inc. client(s) a demand letter and received a response laden with inconsistencies. “We have investigated your claims and determined that an online request for a quote for Medicare Supplement insurance was submitted on December 20, 2018 at Healthcare.com. A video playback from a third-party verification service shows that the online quote request form was submitted from an IP address which appears to originate from north central Ohio, and was populated with your first and last name, mobile telephone number and zip code.” “Based on the foregoing, the Companies deny that they did anything wrong or that you have a valid claim against them.” That was the response I received because of the Jornaya screen grab which did not prove and could not prove who had submitted my personal information on their website! Assurance Petition Reply Comment 7/6/2020 page 3 of 14 The IP address was from North Central Ohio more than a thousand miles from where I live. The so called video playback was nothing more than a screen grab made by a company called Jornaya which is referenced by several commentors in this proceeding. The screen grab is attached with my reply comments. It should be noted that the claim made by Healthcare Inc. that they provide this “evidence” of consent to any consumer that asks for it is a lie. It was not provided to me until after I filed a TCPA claim in court. What stands out in the screen grab is the fictitious email address that, had it been verified, would have clearly shone that it was a bogus email address. Further, the address 101 Tom Street does not exist in ZIP code 77546. Simply put, whoever submitted my personal information on the Healthcare Inc. was generating leads for Healthcare Inc. Once challenged by me a fabrication of my consent was created which by time stamp is after the 1st 2 automatically dialed calls were made to my cell phone. The fact remains that I was signed up for autodialed calls to my cell phone without my consent. Healthcare Inc. accommodated some individual and aided and abetted some individual in harassing me. If Healthcare Inc. had verified the submission via email address or noted the ZIP code and Assurance Petition Reply Comment 7/6/2020 page 4 of 14 IP address locations incongruity, or noted that the address 101 Tom Street was non-existent then the lead should not have been sold to any of their clients. The attached screen grab was provided to me during litigation of the calls. To my astonishment I found out that this Healthcare Inc. sold my personal information to hundreds of their clients. Healthcare Inc. has a client list on their web site that contains 1,892 clients which is linked to in their alleged TCPA compliant web form. “By submitting your information and clicking below, you represent that you are at least 18 years old and agree to be contacted by HealthCare, Inc. and/or Its partner companies and any of their commercial partners for various insurance products through the use of automated telephone dialing systems, pre-recorded messages, and/or text messages. Message and data rates may apply. Your consent Is not a condition of purchase. This program is subject to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.” The above alleged TCPA compliant statement is nothing more than a disclaimer as Healthcare Inc. does nothing to confirm that the owner of the telephone number is the one actually using the web form. Further, there are many false statements made by Healthcare Inc. in its comments. For example: “…there are persons who seek to exploit the TCPA’s strict liability for statutory damages by providing their personal information on a webform, agreeing to be contacted, but then after receiving a phone call or text message, claim they never provided their consent.” Assurance Petition Reply Comment 7/6/2020 page 5 of 14 Really? Instead of lip service show some proof of this claim! These false allegations are repeatedly made in the courts and are never proven. I was accused by Healthcare Inc. of doing exactly that when their own evidence proved otherwise. “…or write an extortion check.” Extortion? Yes I have been repeatedly accused of that as have many victims of TCPA violations. One attorney even contacted the Harris County DA’s office and tried to have me arrested for extortion. The retaliatory threats from this attorney did not end until I filed suit against her client. Needless to say I prevailed in my claim and nothing ever came out of the false accusation of extortion. As in that case the allegation of litigate “…or write an extortion check.” Is a bald faced lie. “…meritless litigation.” Yes I have been repeatedly accused of filing meritless TCPA lawsuits. Every consumer TCPA lawsuit is meritless according to businesses and the lobbyist for their industry that file comments with the FCC. Commentor Healthcare Inc. stated “…frivolous lawsuits…”. Quote Wizard stated twice: “…baseless lawsuits…” Commentor NextGen Leads stated “…frivolous lawsuits…”. Almost every business and lobbyist that comments in these proceedings Assurance Petition Reply Comment 7/6/2020 page 6 of 14 make the same bald faced lies that all TCPA lawsuits are meritless and frivolous. I sent a letter via provable delivery method to Healthcare Inc. and demanded that Healthcare Inc. provide me with the names of each and every one they sold my personal information to. Healthcare did not even have the courtesy to respond to my letter. To this day my family and I have endured hundreds of illegal healthcare telemarketing calls and robocalls claiming to be responding to my alleged online application for Medicare Supplemental Insurance. Healthcare Inc. profited from the harassment of me and my family that continues to this day! Healthcare Inc. did not even apologize or offer any help in stopping the calls. What Healthcare Inc. does to people and their privacy is a crime and should not be something the Commission should sanction. Healthcare Inc. asks the Commission to “…stop bad actors…”. The real bad actors are those that generate leads using questionable methods such as Healthcare Inc. Healthcare Inc. needs to look in the mirror when the say bad actors. The petitioner and business commentors want the Commission to grant them a “reasonable reliance” exemption.
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