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Yes, the Do Not Call system works. I'm on the national and state registries, and haven't gotten any telemarketing calls.

I wouldn't say that any of these other calls are "excuses"; they're classes of calls that are exempt.

It's pretty clear what's exempt:

https://www.donotcall.gov/FAQ/FAQBusiness.aspx#Exe mptOrg

Surveys, among other things, are one of the things that's exempt. "Telemarketing" is "telemarketing". Not someone calling you that you don't want to.

If you sign up for the federal Do Not Call Registry https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx and telemarketers continue to call you, they can get some big fines slapped on them. Not sure if you can sue, but it did put a damper on all those annoying calls after I signed up a few years back...

Since registering I can't remember getting a single telemarketing call. I don't think it applies to politicians though, surprise.

If you are in the US, then check out https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

There is also a site for junk mail - but it isn't run by the governmnet.

However, your number is still fair game for surveys and charity. Before the DNC list, people wanted to sell me things, now they want my time and money.

Who the hell would donate to a charity via an unsolicited phone call?

Theoretically speaking, shouldn't one complaint be sufficient? The idea is to keep companies from calling people who do not want to be called. If you're number is on the list, you're not supposed to be called.

From the Do Not Call Registry website: The National Do Not Call Registry gives you an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls you receive. Once you register your phone number, telemarketers covered by the National Do Not Call Registry have up to 31 days (starting January 1, 2005) from the date you register to stop calling you.

Mind you it says "telemarketers covered by" -- local non-profits and political organizations are exempt.

Google is making a telemarketing call to consumers. There is no check to ensure
that the consumer receiving the call is indeed the one who input the number into the
google form.
This is just a scam to get around the "do not call" list. (https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx).

As qwbiz already indicated: it's easier to accept any number than screen some out. Note that they accept business numbers too, but there is no law against telemarketing to a business number, so you can't complain about that and get any enforcement as you can with a residential line.

It is illegal to make auto-dialed calls to any phone for which the user may be charged for airtime. And any telemarketing company with people punching the tone buttons isn't calling enough to matter. I honestly don't believe any manual-dialing telemarketing firms still exist -- do you know of any?

At any rate -- I didn't say that registering your cellphone on the do not call list will do harm. But you did say "Just a heads up, soon it will not be illegal for them to call cell phones unless they are registered on the do not call list. I would suggest that everyone in the US register their cell phones on http://www.donotcall.gov/" which implies that the law is changing (whatever is "illegal" now, "soon . . . will not be.") Yet you provided no evidence to back this up.

Then you even admitted that was pure speculation based the creation of a "411 wireless directory that will be implemented in 2006" which, is not anything like a certainty. Got any links to back even that claim up? No? Try this one then and quit with the FUD.

And now, despite being called on two unfounded claims stated as facts, you're still arguing. Weird, that.

Thought so. Let me help re-write your OP a little more appropriately then:

"Just to regurgitate some nonsense one of my friends forwarded to me, I, with no reason or qualification, wildly speculate that soon it will not be illegal for them to call cell phones unless they are registered on the do not call list. If, like me, you're supid enough to perpetuate unsubstantiated and even previously-debunked FUD, then I would suggest that everyone in the US register their cell phones on http://www.donotcall.gov/"

Hope that helps.

Just a heads up, soon it will not be illegal for them to call cell phones unless they are registered on the do not call list. I would suggest that everyone in the US register their cell phones on http://www.donotcall.gov/

Q: Can I register my business phone number?

A: The National Do Not Call Registry is only for personal phone numbers. Business-to-business calls are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry.

I don't know if you are in the U.S. or not. But if you are, then I would like to point out that the National Do Not Call List: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx actually works.

I registered my phone number back in February, and starting a month later, I have received very few telemarketing calls, perhaps one or two every couple weeks, when I used to get telespammed heavily on an almost daily basis.

By coincidence, today's paper had an article on the Do Not Call Registry, in which your cell phone stays on record for five years.

Well, I have the database. I downloaded it. That's a fact. In order to get permission to download the whole database, I had to claim that I was an exempt organization. According to the website, "Exempt Organizations include charities or non-profit organizations, organizations engaged in political solicitations or surveys, or Sellers or Telemarketers that call ONLY consumers with whom they have an established business relationship or from whom they have obtained the express written agreement to call." Also according to that website, exempt organizations are not required to pay for access to the database.

I applied as an exempt organization (I'm a Seller who only calls consumers with whom I have an established business relationship), was approved, and downloaded the full national list.

Telemarketer called you; you're on the do not call list?
click here

I've never been bothered by telemarketers on my cell phone yet. With this, you can get harrassed by them all day long.

Perhaps you should consider this.

Why not get on the national do no call list? I haven't had a telemarketers call since I signed up.

"What I'm defending is spam that is not deceptive or fraudulent and which is not sent via such bad practices as listed above. When people talk about getting rid of spam, they're including this kind, and that's when they go too far."

That's because most people don't want spam, legal or otherwise. You seem to be arguing that spammers have the right to send me their crap, but I don't have the right to easily get rid of it. I can't agree with that.

"For example, televised alcohol ads are banned

No they're not. I don't know if you watch any sports, but I assure you that you'll see a lot of beer ads if you do."

My apologies, I meant to say "televised tobacco ads."

"If spammers would just stick to a set of reasonable rules - like sending mail from a valid address, actually removing your address when you request it, using a standard header to indicate that the mail is a mass-mailing - I'd have no problem with it, because I could easily filter it out. This is what the spammers in the FA got nailed for - "...using false Internet addresses to send mass e-mail ads." I have no problem with this.

I think that spammers that did the above would be on solid legal footing, and they are the ones that I'm defending here. Also I don't think that standard headers would need to be required; there's certainly no requirement that junk mail make itself obvious, and we all seem to get by okay."

Again, it comes down to a matter of volume. Spam makes up the majority of my (and many other people's) email, which makes it more difficult to use the medium effectively. If they have the right to send me their spam, I should have the right - and more importantly, the ability - to ignore it.

The post office has Form 1500, and the FTC has the Do Not Call Registry. Where is the comparable method for stopping spam?

Filtering does help, but not (in my experience) enough. Saying that "Filtering and pressing delete is not that hard" is a gross oversimplification of the problem. Finding which ones you should be deleting is like finding a needle in a haystack, and is beyond many users.

IANAL, but it appears that the fellow is being busted for extortion. There are merchants who would love to have the technology.

I don't remember the last time that someone took efforts to restrain themselves from hawking their wares, even in the comfort of my own home. If you don't believe me, check the 'Do Not Call' list.

There are no heroes here, just the lesser of two evils.

If the company has a "pre-existing relationship" with you, they're allowed to call you regardless of whether you're registered (until you tell them to remove your number from their list).

Correct, but that's not the case with the OP and this company.

To expand on what you've touched on:

A company with whom you've had a "pre-existing relationship" may only call you for upto 18 months after the relationship has ended. Even then, if you tell them not to call you again, they cannot call you regardless. To quote their page:

One caveat: if a consumer asks a company not to call, the company may not call, even if there is an established business relationship. Indeed, a company may not call a consumer - regardless of whether the consumer's number is on the registry - if the consumer has asked to be put on the company's own do not call list.

See https://www.donotcall.gov/FAQ/FAQBusiness.aspx#who .

From their FAQ:

"6. How do you handle Do Not Call Legislation? PARSEC Interact has implemented a rigorous program that ensures full DNC compliance.

"As required by law, we ensure that all of our clients are properly registered for the states in which their programs are scheduled to run. This is required before the program can run. The process of registering is relatively painless, and we will walk you through every step.

"Once the list is procured, we scrub not only against the National DNC Registry, but also against state and local DNC lists that are pertinent to the campaign.

"All of our telemarketing agents are trained on how to handle customers who request to be put on the DNC Registry. They are also trained on which practices are acceptable, and which are not acceptable.

We take DNC compliance very seriously, and we are proud of the proactive steps we have taken to ensure compliance. For detailed information on how PARSEC handles DNC compliance, ask your PARSEC representative about our DNC Compliance Guidelines."



So, shouldn't you be able to make a claim against them?

https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.a spx

What do you mean "..does the National Do Not Call list even apply?"

Of course it does. If the company they're calling for does business inside the U.S. then they're in violation of the DNC list, regardless of where the actual calls are coming from - the company placing the calls are an extension of the comapny they're representing.

Immediately file a complaint at https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.a spx for each and every call you've received from this place.

AFAIK, you don't have to warn them or ask them to remove you from the list - its not your responsibility to tell them you're on the list. Its their responsibility to check the list against the numbers they're dialing. They fail to do so, then its their problem they get hit with the fines.

I've had to do this with at least three companies. I lodged complaints all of three times apiece. I've not got a single call from them again. IIRC, the fine is $500 each call.

Not to spoil your fun being an oppressed Republican and all. But I would prefer, in the spirit of your "giving credit where credit is due" post, why give Powell and the FCC for what the FTC is doing? Check it out.

At the very least, however, the same laws which apply to telemarketers should apply to spammers. If I remember correctly, here in the States, if someone recieves a telemarketing call and requests to be removed from the telemarketers' list of numbers, the telemarketing company is required by law to remove that number from their list. The same thing should apply to spammers, and be enforcable with (at the very least) heavy fines.

Sadly, the FTC has already said that you can't put friends/family/etc on the DNC List, only your own phone numbers.

Q: Can I register all my family and friends?

A: No. You should register only your own telephone numbers.
https://www.donotcall.gov/FAQ/FAQConsumersNew.aspx #What

This is good to hear. Now, all we need is a do-not-use-IE list.

DO-NOT-USE-IE

The damn form doesn't work unless you use IE. Fools!

- Kevin

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love it when the pollsters call me up and I get to give my opinion and answer good and bad about $CANDIDATE.

Although, I haven't gotten any calls since I moved to VoIP(Packet8), so I don't know if they haven't been able to get my number or something, but I don't think the Do Not Call List applies to political candidates. This might be different though because supposedly polls don't work FOR candidates but rather provide an "objective" view.

Chris

I think that the do not call list would be a great data set with a bunch of records and non-random data.

People want an open public form of communcation, but are unwilling to accept telephone calls from people that they don't want to hear. I think it's interesting that people expect others (i.e. government) to go after these individuals in the hope that it will put an end to all unwated telephone calls...

Regulating such calls would be untenable. Legislating an end to telemarketing calls entirely--that would be totally unreasonable. Right.

There are also laws regarding junk faxes and restrictions on junk snail mail. Having the government regulate advertising in telecommunications is not exactly a new concept. It it unreasonable that people expect them to step in for email as well?

https://www.donotcall.gov/FAQ/FAQConsumersNew.aspx

Q: Can I register my cell phone number?
A: Yes.

This was true when the list was first started as well.

one hand it's like a free list that unscrupulous telemarketers can get and spam

I believe there is a charge for the list, and they have to get the list quarterly.

Strangely enough, the Direct Marketing Association feels that it is necessary to charge people $5 to help get them off the list if they do it online! What a scam. They don't link to the official site at all.

Get on the state no-call list! It works well--since signing up for it, my telemarketer-scum calls have dropped to nearly nothing. I think I've gotten three buyourstuffthatyouotherwisewouldn'twant calls since signing up over a year ago, and I sent a complaint in for each one. One guy called twice within a few weeks, but nothing since.

(Well, OK, the state of Georgia now says to sign up for the "free(paidforwithhighertaxes)" federalbigbrother list and you'll get put on the state list automagically.

Go ahead, big brother already knows who and where you are. ;-)

For all practical purposes, its illegal now in the US. If you sign up for the national do not call list, your telemarketing calls will virtually disappear. The fines for violations are stiff and some big company, I think it was Worldcom, was actually fined for calling people on the list. As for "charity" callers which are exempt, they must now display identification on caller ID, so its easy to not answer their calls. Telemarketing has, thank god, become mostly a thing of the past.

It also exempts long-distance phone companies

I don't see any reference to this exemption at www.donotcall.gov. Where does it say that phone companies and airlines are exempt?

"How 'low' can they go?"

As low as they need to in order to make a buck.

Does this really suprise anyone? We've continuously seen spammers/telemarketers/advertisers/etc. sink lower and lower over the years as their tactics are countered. First there was telemarketing then the Telezapper gave us all a little hope that the incessant calls would stop. Then the telemarkters came up with a new tool that beat the telezapper. We responded with the Do Not Call Registry and now the telemarketers are suing on the basis of free speech. They will stop at nothing, not even the breaking the law, to make money.

Most of the dead air phone calls you get are probably predictive dialing by telemarketers. I found that my state's do-not-call list basically eliminated them. Of course, these day's it's easy to get on the national do-not-call list.

This shouldn't really come as to big of a suprise. Political acts have been exempted from major laws before. From the DoNotCall.gov FAQs:

The National Do Not Call Registry does not limit calls by political organizations, charities or telephone surveyors.

Political spam isn't to much different from unsolicited political phone calls. And both would surely be of intrest to the politicians, as they seem to have exempted them from the laws. I find political phone calls equally, if not more annoying, then people asking me if I want to save $.13 a year on my long distance bills.

Plus, the real person they call will likely bitch them out (because it is a cold call). Hey, they might even be on the Do Not Call list. The fact that they got a lead for that number offers no protection as the lead is bogus (i.e. incorrect name, incorrect address.), so now you are putting the mortgage company in a position where they may be liable for fines.

With most of the calls to my home phone number being solicitations for credit-fixing schemes and satellite-TV systems (so much for the Do-Not-Call list), if I ever go cell-only I'm not entirely sure I'd want to keep my phone number.

You do know that telemarketers are not suppose to call cell phone numbers. If you make sure to tell them that I'm sure the calls would dwindle to nothingness.

They're not supposed to call my home number either, but they still do. They need to crawl under a big rock and die...they're every bit as nasty as spammers.

I can't get a copy now and can ignore it until the FTC gets it available again

Except that it it is available at donotcall.gov. I don't think the list was unavailable for very long -- what with congress ammending the law so quickly and all to reaffirm their intent that the FTC administer the list. :)

So, sign on up and download your copy!

- Peter

I'm glad to see AT&T being held accountable in particular.

You might be interested in this site.

I wonder if his penis has been enlarged, his mortgage shrunk and if he earned his masters overnight too!? Everyone should sign up his nightclub for all kinds of mailing lists, might I recommend Viagra, Rogaine, mortgage brokering firms... and I wonder if he's on the do not call list...

You can register your home and mobile phone numbers for free

Um, from the front page of the DNC registry, it says that, if you registered between June 27 - August 31, 2003, the DNC registration took effect October 1, 2003. The 3 month waiting period is for registrations that took place on or after September 1, 2003.

Here's the correct link for do not call list complaints..

Problem is, I can't get it to load in my Mozilla, only in IE.

Someone want to look into this?

Problem is, I can't get it to load in my Mozilla, only in IE.

Someone want to look into this?

and the cost is staggering

Oh, WAAAAAAAAAH! Poor telemarketers.

From FTC's info page: (my emphasis added)

How much does it cost to access the registry?

Data for up to five area codes will be available for free. Beyond that, there is an annual fee of $25 per area code of data, with a maximum annual fee of $7,375 for the entire U.S. database.

That's so much less than a penny per phone number that you don't get any sympathy at all.

If you're a national telemarketer, you pay your $7,375.00 and download the 122MB compressed file annually. I don't think this is a large fee or burden compared to the actual costs of the telecommunications equipment, not to mention your staff.

On the other hand, the amount of lost revenue from the diminished "audience" for your calls has got to hurt. Cry me a river. :)

- Peter

For our html-challenged posters, that should be a link to the Do Not Call Registry complaint form.

By the way, what's wrong with their SSL certificate? It looks like it's supposed to be a Verisign-issued certificate, but it's coming up as "issued by an unknown entity".

- Peter

the front page has a link to file a complaint. follow that, you'll get your web form.