National Do Not Call Registry in force now

Consumers who don't wish to be called by telemarketers have a new ally. The Federal Trade Commission has started the National Do Not Call Registry, a list of phone numbers telemarketers must delete from their call lists. The exceptions are telephone surveyors, charities, and political organizations. Telemarketers and sellers will be required to search the registry at least every three months and drop any phone numbers on the list. Violators could be subject to fines up to $11,000 per incident. Enforcement of the new no-call list will begin Oct. 1 and telemarketers must obtain a copy of the list before that date to purge any numbers of those who have registered. According to the FTC, a telemarketer or seller may call a consumer with whom it has an established business relationship for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase, delivery, or payment --even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, a company may call a consumer for up to three months after the consumer makes an inquiry or submits an application to the company. If a consumer has given a company written permission, the company may call even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. If a consumer asks a company not to call, the company must not call the consumer again, even if there is an established business relationship and regardless of whether the consumer's number is on the do-not-call list. Missourians who have already put their numbers on the statewide list will still have to register with the national list. because Missouri will not be sharing its list with the FTC, although some states are sharing such lists with the federal agency. The list is an outgrowth of the 1994 Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. A year later the FTC adopted the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which prohibits deceptive and abusive telemarketing and protects consumers from late-night telemarketing calls. In 1999, the FTC reviewed the TSR and held public meetings and workshops and, after three years of review, created the list. The FTC began registering numbers via the Web site and automated phone system Friday and both systems were inundated with responses. The FTC said the Web site was receiving more than 1,000 hits a second and the phone system registered even more numbers than the Web site despite covering only those states lying west of the Mississippi river. On October 1, 2003, the FTC and the States will start to enforce the National Do Not Call Registry provisions of the Amended Telemarketing Sales Rule. After that date a consumer who receives a telemarketing call despite being on the registry will be able to file a complaint with the FTC, either online or by calling a toll-free number.