Reporter Resources: The National Do Not Call Registry
The FTC’s National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry has been an unqualified success. It not only contains more than 167 million telephone numbers from consumers who do not want to be contacted by telemarketers, but helps telemarketers screen out consumers who do not want to be contacted, making them more efficient as well. The link to the main page for the DNC Registry can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall. Spanish-language information about the Registry can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/es_index.html.
The Registry only contains phone numbers, no other personally identifiable information, and we do not keep a record of whether the numbers are land line or cell phones.
There are several exemptions to the Registry – they are not loopholes. Our statutory authority prevents us from reaching political calls or calls from non-profits and charities. Also, calls from legitimate “survey” organizations are not covered because they are not offering to "sell" anything. Finally, calls are permitted from companies with which you have done or sought to do business. Specifically, a company can call you up to 18 months after you last did business with it; a company can contact you up to three months after you have inquired about something it sells. We call this the “established business relationship.” Information about filing a DNC-related complaint with the FTC about a telemarketer can be found at: https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.aspx.
Telemarketers have to “scrub” their lists every 31 days. That is, they are required to subscribe to the DNC Registry from the FTC (the first five area codes are free) and they must then compare their call lists with the Registry every month to ensure that new numbers are taken off their lists. Therefore, if a consumer signs up for the Registry, they should start receiving fewer telemarketing calls in no more than 31 days.
The FTC takes enforcement of the Registry seriously. To date, the Commission has brought more than 30 enforcement actions against companies and telemarketers for Registry violations, the largest being a settlement with DirecTV and its telemarketers that resulted in fine of more than $5.3 million. Violations include, but are not limited to, calling consumers on the Registry, not buying the Registry before telemarketing, calling under the pretense of conducting a survey; calling consumers after the 18-month established business relationship has expired. A complete list of DNC-related enforcement actions taken to date can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/cases.html.
Originally, DNC registrations were good for five years from the date of the most recent registration. The first re-registrations were to begin taking place in June 2008. However, Congress recently passed legislation that was signed into law by the President making numbers on the Registry permanent and eliminating the five-year re-registration requirement. So consumers no longer have to re-register their numbers at any time. However, if a consumer is concerned that he or she is receiving more telemarketing calls than before, they can verify that their number is still on the Registry quickly and simply on the Commission’s Web site.
All press release issued on DNC-related actions can be found at the following link: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/mediacenter.html. Information about the Telemarketing Sales Rule, of which the DNC Rule is a component, can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/rulemaking/tsr/tsrrulemaking/index.shtm.
