The number of unwanted telemarketing phones calls we receive may soon be reduced by 80%. Congress passed legislation last Thursday to ensure that the Do-Not-Call List would take effect this week, as scheduled. The Do-Not-Call List is a tool setup by the government to reduce unwanted phone calls from telemarketers, and it allows consumers to block [many] of these unwanted phone calls by allowing consumers to register their phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry. It has been said that this list will not block all unwanted phone calls, but enough for the consumer to notice the difference in the amount of telemarketing calls they receive.
In the past three months, the Do Not Call Registry has had over 50 million phone numbers added to their Do-Not-Call List. New Hampshire had 200,000 numbers registered, and California had the most out of all states with 6 million. Consumers can register their phone numbers through the National Do Not Call Registry’s Web site at www.donotcall.gov, or by contacting them by phone at 1-888-382-1222. Once the Do Not Call List goes into effect, telemarketers will be forced to purchase the registry’s Do Not Call database. Telemarketers will have to search the database and see if it contains phone numbers that match up to the ones on their consumer calling lists. If the telemarketer’s calling list matches phone numbers in the registry’s database, telemarketers have up to three months to call these numbers. That is, they have three months to call the numbers from the time those numbers were registered. After this three-month period, telemarketers are not allowed to call those phone numbers, under penalties of up to $11,000 for each call they make.
People such as Realtors will have to rethink their approach at gathering their clientele. Realtors have been known to use phone books to make cold calls, to try to build their customer base. This national list will make it difficult for business people who use the cold-calling method, and force them to look for new ways of contacting potential customers. There is hope for Realtors, however. The FCC has offered two exemptions that give business people some slack. They’re allowed to call consumers that they’ve done business with over the last 18 months and they can call consumers based on referrals from family, friends, and acquaintances.
Although the Do Not Call List may significantly reduce the number of phone calls consumers receive, the list is not intended to stop phone calls from charities, political organizations (e.g., pollsters), and survey groups. These groups are thought of as having a general public interest. Also, the Do Not Call bill does not offer protection from companies that you have a preexisting business relationship with. If you do business with a company (e.g., purchased something, got something delivered, mailed in a payment), that company is allowed to call you for up to 18 months from the last time you did business with them. Even more interesting is the idea that if a consumer has a question and they call a company to get an answer, the company has the right to contact the consumer for up to three months following the time of the phone call. This is considered an implied relationship, and can be established easily just by calling a place of business and asking them how late they’re open to. There is a way around this, a consumer can explicitly say that they do not want to receive unsolicited marketing calls from the company. The company has no choice but to respect and carry out the consumer’s request. Otherwise the company would be subject to fines.
New Hampshire does not regulate telemarketing.