National Do Not Call List

What is National Do Not Call List?
National do not call list is a list of phone numbers of the consumers who does not want to called by telemarketers. National do not call registry gives the consumers a choice of receiving telemarketing calls at home or to their mobile. It is a nationwide registry which will allow the consumer to reduce the unsolicited telemarketing through the phone. At present every telemarketer has its own "do not call list" where the person can register to avoid marketing calls. National do not call list ensures that the individuals whose names present in the list should not be called by marketing agencies. Marketing firms should respect individual’s rights who have registered in this list. Any telemarketing calls from overseas are also covered.

National Do Not Call Registry
The National do not call registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (U.S.A), a nation’s consumer protection agency. The Federal Communication Commission received complaints from consumers throughout the nation about unwanted calls. According to the telephone protection act, the Federal Communication Commission established together with Federal Trade Commission a National Do Not Call Registry.

This facility is available to any plan, program or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls which includes marketers who solicit consumers, often on behalf of the third party sellers. It also includes sellers who provide goods or services to consumers. Even though the number is registered, the companies which have business with the consumer can continue to call and this is applicable for registered charity organizations, political organizations and telephone surveyors.

If the consumers do not want to register their number in National do not call list, instead of registering they can call the companies one by one to enter their names in the company’s do not call list. From January1, 2005 onwards telemarketers and sellers should search the registry at least once in every 31 days and drop the number from their call lists which is registered with National do not call registry. The consumer must renew do not call registration every year beginning from the date of registration. The Federal Trade commission will not drop any numbers from the list based on five years expiration period. The Federal Trade Commission amends the Telemarketing Sales Rule to give consumer a choice about whether they want to receive the marketing calls.

The number registered in the National do not call registry will be on the registry by the next day. If the consumer has more than one phone number, he can register all the numbers online at the same time. But there is a limit for the number of phone numbers to be registered. After registration the consumer will receive separate confirmation e-mail for each number. The consumer must open each e-mail and click on the link of each number to complete the registration.

Only for Personal Numbers
National do not call list is only for personal numbers. The system will automatically remove most numbers that are disconnected and reassigned. If the number of the consumer is disconnected and then reconnected, the consumer should re-register.

Telemarketers should not call the number which is registered in the registry. If they do, the consumer can file a complaint at the government’s website. The consumer can register both the home and mobile numbers for free and the registration will be effective for five years. Only consumer information organization will be able to access the registered number from the registry. The calls do not stop immediately after registering because telemarketing companies are only required to check the list every thirty one days. The consumer can remove their numbers from the do not call list at any time.

The consumer can file complaint either by online or by calling a toll- free number. To file a complaint against the telemarketers, the phone number must have been in the do not call list for 31 days. To register complaint the National do not call registry should know the date of the call and either the name or telephone number of the company that called the consumer.