Jordan Goodman is the author of Everyone's Money Book, available at 888-201-6300. This is the third edition of the book. You can also visit his Web site at www.moneyanswers.com. He talks with us on Thursday mornings.

January 2, 2003

"The National Do Not Call Registry"

Here are some of the most important details about how these new regulations might affect you:
• A national call registry is being created which will go into effect 4 months after Congress approves the funds for it, which means it should be happening by mid-year 2003. Many states already have such lists, so the FTC is going to coordinate with the states to avoid duplication. You will be able to register for free either online or by calling a toll-free number. Once you register, telemarketers will be required to "scrub" their call lists so your phone number does not show up. You will have to register separately for each phone number you want not to get telemarketing calls. A month after that, if you get a sales call even though you have registered, there will be a number and Web site at the FTC for you to complain, and supposedly, the FTC will fine the telemarketing company for violating the rule. Your registration on the "do not call" list will last for 5 years, or until you change your phone number or move.

• There still will be a few exceptions to the rule, of course. If you have an established business relationship with the telemarketer, meaning you have bought goods or services from them in the last 18 months, or if you have applied for services like a loan within 3 months, they can still call you. You can give a specific company permission to call you even if they are on the do not call national registry. And, legitimate charities are exempted from the do not call list, except they must agree to be on "entity-specific" do not call lists where you can tell the FTC that you do not want a particular organization to call you.

• The new rules also are designed to protect you against unauthorized charges to your credit cards from telemarketers. This often happens because telemarketers get your credit card information from lists without you even knowing about it, which is banned in the future. Before any telemarketer can charge anything on your credit card, they have to get your express approval by phone where they get a recording of you OK’ing the deal and giving your credit card number, or your signature approving the deal.

• The new rules also are designed to prevent "dead air" calls when telemarketing machines use predictive dialers to call thousands of numbers, and when they get you on the phone, no sales reps are available to start the conversation. This is what is known as "call abandonment" and it is banned, except if a sales rep can get to you within 2 seconds of you answering the phone. Another new rule requires telemarketers to transmit their phone numbers so consumer Caller ID systems can pick them up to protect consumer privacy.

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