| - On
Friday June 27th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a long-awaited nationwide
registry for residents who want to block unsolicited advertising via their home
and cellular telephones.
- You
can register online at DONOTCALL.GOV
if you have an active email address. Telephone registration (1-888-382-1222
(TTY 1-866-290-4236)) also opens for consumers in states west
of the Mississippi River - including Minnesota and Louisiana. On July 7, 2003,
telephone registration will be available to the entire country. Registration is
free.
If
you've been tired of being bothered by telemarketers, you can now add your phone
numbers to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) registry of numbers that companies
must agree not to call with solicitations. The Federal Trade Commission, the Federal
Communications Commission, and the states will begin enforcing the National Do
Not Call Registry on Oct. 1, 2003. That's when consumers who put their numbers
on the registry by August 31, 2003 will notice a downturn in the number of telemarketing
calls they get. Telemarketers who disregard the registry could face fines as high
as $11,000 for each call. Commercial
telemarketing is covered by the rule except for polling, surveys, and calls from
political or charitable organizations. Insurance businesses, to the extent that
they are regulated by state law, are permitted to call you as well. The rules
also allow calls from firms with existing business relationships with consumers.
More
than half the states already offer do-not-call lists of various stripes, and many
agreed to transfer their lists to the national database. But in some states residents
will have to register their numbers separately on the national list. Click
here to learn how your state do not call list relates to the National Do Not Call
Registry. You
will be able to register for free in two ways: online or by telephone. Online
registration (visit DONOTCALL.GOV)
for the National Do Not Call Registry is available to consumers coast-to-coast
starting June 27th. Telephone registration (1-888-382-1222
(TTY 1-866-290-4236)) is also available for consumers in states
west of the Mississippi River - including Minnesota and Louisiana starting June
27th. On July 7, 2003, telephone registration will be available to the entire
country. If you register by phone, you must call from the number you want to register.
If you register online, you must provide an email address for confirmation. You
will have to open an email and click on a link in it for your online registration
to be complete. The only identifying information that will be kept in the registry
will be the phone number you register. You can expect fewer calls within three
months of the date you sign up for the registry. For more information, click
here. Pres.
Bush Inaugurates Do Not Call List House
Approves Telemarketing 'Do Not Call' List (The Washington Post, Feb 13, 2003)
Tauzin
Reverses Stance on Do-Not-Call List (The Washington Post, Jan 9, 2003) If
you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst
Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091
or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation
in the National Grange Legislative program. Want
to Subscribe To  ? For
all subscription and circulation inquiries, Contact: Jonathan
Hill. | 
