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National Do Not Call List Opens for Registrations
prockcore writes "The National Do Not Call Registry is up and running. Sign up so most telemarketers cannot call you starting October 1st. There are exemptions though, like for charities and political organizations." Note that many of the states which have opened their own registries will be sharing that data with the national list, so you may not have to re-register - check and see what your state is doing.
I'm not particularly pleased that the US government now has a growing database tying email addresses to phone numbers.
(for those that didn't bother to read it, they require a valid email address to register your phone number online)
I guess I'll be creating a throw-away yahoo or hotmail address for this...
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
Wow, slashdotted before the article was even posted to non-subscribers...
I think this is a new record: Slashdotted in negative 37 seconds
But seriously, I like screwing with telemarketers heads too much to put my number on this list anyway.
I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
-Xenocrates
All I can say is Thank God! More than a simple annoyance in our home lives, the telemarketing industry is a severe drain on the resources of this country. Much like the bureaucracies of Europe (not to mention Canada) which are so widely criticized, the US telemarking industry provides a means of artificial employment for innumerable workers in this country, with people attempting to sell unwanted products in vain, going from job to job as telemarketing franchises are born and die, contributing nothing to the actual economic output of the country. Goodbye telemarketing, and good riddance...
Is there a national call list? I am lonely and would like to get more phone calls please.
this doesn't affect market researchers calling you. Don't get me wrong i'm not complaining, but it would be great if we could somehow get them under the umbrella.
Here's my next question, where the hell is my http://donotemail.gov ???
Scum of the earth, scum of the earth.
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
you can also call 888.382.1222, east of the Mississippi can call the same number after 7/7/03. Don't forget to ask if they want to switch to AT&T.
Simply sign up for an AOL account. Or put a valid phone number in your Yahoo E-mail Account. Or you could even go so far as to fill out all of those "Enter to win a car" contests at the local Mall.
I can't wait to see companies buying time on charity organization's phone calls. Imagine this:
1) Company makes donation to charity
2) Charity promises to advertise company during charity's fund raising calls
3) Company claims donation on their taxes
4) ????
5) Profit!!! (or in the case of the charity: Non-Profit!!!!!)
You should check out Spam Gourmet instead of creating whole yahoo or hotmail accounts. It has worked really well for me.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
I have had several ladies tell me that I was on their don't call list. How can one get this entry cleared?
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
He hates his job, but it pays him... They get around the do not call list because they're not "technically" telemarketing. They give away something for free. Free demonstrations. ;-) All that they do over the phone is try and get people to accept a free demonstration of some product. The sales people who go do the demo are the ones trying to sell stuff. I wonder if many other companies will be using techniques like this now?
This space for rent, inquire within.
Shocking!
This is probably a good thing from a certain point of view. If they had tried to restrict political calls, then the whole regulation might have been tossed out on 1st Amendment grounds. It certainly would have clouded the issue, and would have very like have been challenged.
Someone above quoted the FAQ that lists the exempt industries. (He also left off the second part: "You may still receive calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors or companies with which you have an existing business relationship.")
I think it sucks too, but there's a reason for it: The Federal Trade commission is the one creating this list, and only those industries regulated by them are controllable by this list. For instance, phone companies are regulated by the FCC.
*&$% Congress should have plugged this hole by unifying a do-not-call across the various regulatory agencies.
You can bet that congressional campaigns were probably specifically exempted by the bill, though.
Design for Use, not Construction!
From a CNN article:
The FCC voted 5-0 Thursday to add its authority to the do-not-call list and to plug holes in its protections. The registry will now also block telemarketers from industries whose calls the FCC regulates, including airlines, banks and telephone companies.
Nice!
It's kind of sad that they'll be going away, really. Oh how I'll miss that ever-present 10 second pause before they say hello. Or how they talk to my answering machine for a few minutes before they realize no one is there (with the general interest in telemarketing I could understand the confusion). And of course who can overlook the sheer amount of interesting stories they can provide a person.
For example like the time I answered the phone only to find a telemarketer in the midst of conversation with her "girlfrient" Brandy in the next cubicle. This one didn't even bother to say hello, just kept on talking. At least she was kind enough to eventually tell me to, "Hold on minute, will you?" Or perhaps the one time I kindly the told the telemarketer that I wasn't interested in their offer and he promptly told me to screw off in his own expletive-ridden way. My favorite, however, was the time I told one I was actually interested in their product just for kicks.
Sales Drone: "Excuse me, sir? Did you say you were interested?"
Me: "Yeah, that's right."
Sales Drone: "No one is ever interested, sir. I'm not even sure how to make a sale."
(Sets phone down and yells to his associates)
Sales Drone: "Anyone here ever make a sale before!?"
(Short pause)
Sales Drone: "I'm going to have to get you a manager. Can we call you back?"
Seriously, will anyone miss these people?
DigiSquid Design.
I snagged a copy and emailed it on before it got posted to Slashdot:
.htm.
Tell Me More About the National Do Not Call Registry
Q: Why would I register my phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry?
A: The National Do Not Call Registry gives you an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls you receive. On October 1, 2003, when the National Do Not Call Registry will be enforced, most telemarketers will be required to remove the numbers on the registry from their call lists.
Q: Who manages the National Do Not Call Registry?
A: The National Do Not Call Registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency.
Q: Why was the National Do Not Call Registry created?
A: The registry was created to offer consumers a choice regarding telemarketing calls. The FTC's decision to create the National Do Not Call Registry was the culmination of a comprehensive, three year review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, as well as the Commission's extensive experience enforcing the Rule over seven years. The FTC held numerous workshops, meetings and briefings to solicit feedback from interested parties and considered over 64,000 public comments, most of which favored creating the registry. You can review the entire record of the Rule review at www.ftc.gov/bcp/rulemaking/tsr/tsrrulemaking/index
How Does Registration Work?
Q: How soon after I register will I notice a reduction in calls?
A: If you register by August 31, 2003, you will start receiving fewer telemarketing calls by October 1, 2003. If you register after September 1, 2003, telemarketers covered by the National Do Not Call Registry will have up to three months from the date you register to stop calling you.
Q: I've already registered on my state's do not call list. Do I need to register on the National Do Not Call Registry?
A: The answer depends on where you live. Most of the 26 states will that currently have active do not call lists will transfer numbers from their lists to the National Do Not Call Registry. A few will not. You can find out which states are transferring their do not call lists to the National Do Not Call Registry at www.ftc.gov/donotcall. If you live in a state that is transferring its do not call list to the national registry, you do not need to re-register. On the other hand, if you live in a state that has its own do not call list, but the state is not transferring numbers to the National Registry, then you need to register your own number on the National Registry. If you are uncertain whether you are on a state do not call list and wish to limit your telemarketing contacts, you can register with the National Do Not Call Registry.
Q: When I register my phone number, how long until it shows up on the National Do Not Call Registry?
A: After you register, your phone number will be available for telemarketers to remove it from their call lists by the next day. Telemarketers will have up to three months to get your phone number and remove it from their call lists.
Q: How long does it take after I delete my phone number for it to be deleted from the National Do Not Call Registry?
A: After you delete your phone number, it will be removed from the National Do Not Call Registry by the next day. But telemarketers have up to three months to access information about your deletion and add your number back to their call lists, if they choose to.
Q: If I registered by phone, will I receive a confirmation?
A: No, but you can verify that your number is on the registry online or by calling the registry's toll-free number, 1-888-382-1222; for TTY, call 1-866-290-4236.
Q: I received a phone call from someone offering to put my name on the National Do Not Call Registry. Should I let them?
A: No. The FTC will not allow private companies or other such third parties to "pre-register" consumers for the National Do Not Call Registry. Web sites
I just had another thought.
/.er is probably thinking right now that it's less than ten billion total phone numbers (by the time you screen out non-US area codes, toll-free and service numbers it's probably on the order of 6 or 7 billion), a bunch of random domains and e-mails can be created to add EVERY SINGLE phone number to the list, and even automate the e-mail reply with a procmail line. (Actually, since business phone numbers aren't covered by the DNC list, it's probably less than 3 billion possible numbers.)
Some enterprising young
Don't.
No, really.
If the registry is a complete set of the US phone system, some telemarketer will sue claiming that there's false data in there, and that the majority of the people on the list never opted out.
They'll have to scrap the whole thing, and start over again with an even-more-invasive registration procedure.
Design for Use, not Construction!
The original exemptions are due to the FTC not having control over airlines, banks, and phone companies. Those industries are regulated by the FCC. If you read this article at CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/06/27/do.not.c all.ap/index.html, you'll find the following quote:
"The FCC voted 5-0 Thursday to add its authority to the do-not-call list and to plug holes in its protections. The registry will now also block telemarketers from industries whose calls the FCC regulates, including airlines, banks and telephone companies."
So by the time it goes active (october 1) this thing WILL be useful.
--Atlantix
Offshore telemarketers and spammers from mining the do not call database? These people are scum anyways, and as long as they are not operating within the US, it seems to me that the US government has just handed them a bonafide list of valid phone and email addresses.
My rights don't need management.
Ah, yes, but this only shows your lack of sophistication. Believing the government, how quaint. This would be a much better response, guaranteed to get you boatloads of positive moderation:
"The DoNotCall registry has a privacy policy which states that the e-mail address is only used for confirmation and will be stored separately from the phone numbers. Fortunately, I am too wise to fall for this dastardly scheme thought up by the evil genius of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Because of my vaunted sophistication, I know for certain that this is a fig leaf to cover the insertion of this data into the TIA database run by the war criminals Don Rumsfeld and John Poindexter. Further, thanks to my superior intellectual ability, I am sure that the oil barons who control GWB will use the e-mail addresses for spamming in an effort to make even more money. The only way for us to be safe is to hope that Howard Dean is elected this year. And, of course, to make sure that the Supreme Court doesn't get a chance to rig the election again. Until that happens, I will be much too smart to include myself on this purported "DoNotCall" List, which I think will be sold by the Republican Party to the highest bidder."
See, that wasn't so hard! Now you too can comment on political issues here at Slashdot and reap the ever increasing karma rewards!
"Fifty million Americans can't be wrong," said Rep. Billy Tauzin. Gore - 50,999,897 Bush - 50,456,002