I just got a call on my home phone line from a solicitor with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The fellow asked me if I was still in the Houston area, and if I knew how important it was to support the Texas DPS.
My exact response was, “Dude, are you aware the Houston area is under hurricane evacuation?”
He was, but that didn’t seem to slow down his rebuttal or ongoing efforts at solicitation.
It is in incredibly poor taste for the Texas DPS to be pestering Houstonians trying to prepare for a Hurricane, let alone Houstonians on the No Call list.
UPDATE (09-22-2005): I just got this email. Apparently, this telemarketing organization was engaged in fraud:
Hi Mr. Whited,
The Texas Department of Public Safety does not solicit financial contributions from private citizens. DPS is funded from your tax dollars.If you have been contacted by a telemarketing organization representing itself to be the Texas Department of Public Safety, you should know that the DPS receives no financial support from these organizations. Some groups include in their names the terms “Texas Rangers,” “State Troopers,” “Texas Highway Patrol” or “Department of Public Safety.” While some officers may be members of these associations on their own time, these organizations are not affiliated with the DPS. They are private associations raising money to fund their own programs, some of which may benefit officers and their families.
If you have been contacted by an organization that you believe is misrepresenting itself, you can contact the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at (800) 621-0508.
For additional information about a particular group, you can contact your local Better Business Bureau, which has information on fundraising organizations and the percentage of donations that actually goes toward helping people or projects.
Tela Mange
Public Information Office
Texas Department of Public Safety
