Do Not Call Telemarketer List Extended
When the “Do Not Call” registry list was initially founded in 2003, consumers could list their personal phone numbers for a 5-year period. After that, they would have to re-register in order to stay on the “Do Not Call” list.
As of September 2008, 150 million “Do Not Call” registrations by consumers were set to expire, leaving them open to telemarketer calls.
Humph! Bad news for consumers, good news for telemarketers, that was.
Well, hold the phones. Congress just passed legislation that stops the removal of consumer phone numbers from the list. Essentially the legislation just continues the Do Not Call list and retains the numbers that were put on there. In other words, telemarketers still won’t be able to call the numbers on the list.
So, if in your personal life you don’t want to be bothered by telemarketer calls during dinner, then you’re protected.
If you run a telemarketing firm, well you already know about the Do Not Call List. You don’t need me to tell you anything about it.
Note: the List does not apply to B-to-B telemarketing calls, political and charity calls, and some other exceptions.
Go here for the Do Not Call Registry to register a phone number.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:04 am
How effective is the Don Not Call List? I remember I got several calls every week. But I thought it was pretty fun to listen to the sales person, doing his / her pitch. I had some bad experiences with a couple of charity calls. They tried to “black mail” you and said that you had a “duty” to give… I remember one phone caller who turned into a nasty person, giving me verbal threats between the lines…
February 18th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Martin, for consumer calls it’s very effective, I think. It’s cut down the calls we get during dinner to zero.
On the other hand, the List does not stop B-to-B calls. So if you are a businessperson, you will still get business calls to your business number.
Anita
March 17th, 2008 at 2:24 am
This is a really good thing. It does make the phone company maintain a list of disconnects, but big deal. Over all it is great.
I answer phones for a state-wide no call list, and half the time the call is confusion over the issue of the national no call list and it expiring. Maybe those calls will start to slow down
If anyone is interested in more ways to eliminate telemarketing calls I’ve made a post in my blog detailing the no call list status in every US state. Many states keep their own do not call list. It is good to make sure you are on both your states list and the federal list.
http://www.americaninbound.com/blog/2008/02/14/get-rid-of-your-telemarketing-problem-once-and-for-all/