The National Do Not Call Registry: Reducing Volume Of Calls From Telemarketers (NAPSA)—It’s a familiar scene for most families: You’ve just gotten supper on the table when the phonerings...sure enough it’s somebody tryingto sell you something. No matter what theyre pushing, telemarketers often seem to call at the most inopportune times. In a sense, this isn’t surprising, since these professional salespeople know that dinnertime is a good time to catch people at home. It’s now possible to cut down the number of telemarketing calls you receive. The federal government has created the National Do Not Call Registry, which puts con- sumers in charge of the telemarketing calls they get at home. You can register for free by phone or on the Web. The Federal Trade Commission—the nation’s consumer protection agency—and individual states will begin enforcing the reg- istry on October 1, 2003. That’s when consumers who registered their numbers by August 31, 2008, will notice a downturn in the num- ber of telemarketing calls they get. After August 31, telemarketers will have three months from when a consumer registers to remove the numberfrom calllists. How doesit work? The new law requires telemarketers to search the registry every three months and “scrub” their call lists to remove phone num- bers that are on the registry. If you receive telemarketing calls after your numberhas been in the NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY WWW.DONOTCALL.GOV There’s a new nationalregistry for people who want to receive fewer telemarketing calls. registry for three months, you can file a complaint; a telemarketer who disregards the National Do Not Call Registry could be fined up to $11,000 for each call. Placing your number on the registry will stop most telemarketing calls, but not all. For example, phone surveys, political organizations and charities are exempt and can call you even if your name is on the registry. However, most calls come from professional telemarketing companies, which are not exempt, even if they’re calling on behalf of an exempt company. For more information, or to register for the National Do Not Call Registry, call 1-888-382-1222, (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the number you wish to register or visit www.donotcall.gov. To register online, you will need an active e-mail address.
