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The Real Truth About the "Do Not Call" Registry
E-mails about the National Do Not Call Registry continue to circulate the Web. But does it really protect you from telemarketers? We separate fact from fiction.
Posted 7/ 6 10 at 7:00 PM | Business Trends, Technology, Advertising & Marketing, Legal Issues, Business Products & Services, Consumer Products & Services, Telecommunications
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It's hard to keep a good urban legend down. Your heart may have jumped and you may have clutched your cell phone a little tighter if you received this charmingly formatted e-mail recently:REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.
REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell and home phone: 888-382-XXXX.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.
It takes about 20 seconds.
It's no wonder this e-mail has been rearing its ugly head in inboxes since at least 2004, according to urban legend debunking site Snopes. Nothing is more irritating than someone calling to sell you pet insurance during dinner time or copier supplies during a big meeting. Getting that kind of call on your cell phone adds another level of obnoxiousness.
The recent "Do Not Call" scare revival comes at a time when families and businesses are increasingly dropping landlines in favor of cell phones. The National Center for Health Statistics found that one-quarter of households used only wireless phones in the second half of 2009.
What's True
- The National Do Not Call Registry is real. It's managed by the Federal Trade Commission. Cell phone numbers can be registered. To register, call 888-382-1222 or visit donotcall.gov.
- You will be charged for any incoming telemarketing calls. Assuming telemarketers got your cell number somehow and are calling you, it is treated like any other incoming call and charged according to your wireless service plan.
- Telemarketers are required to respect the registry. They have 31 days to quit calling you after you register your number.
What's False
- Cell phone numbers aren't going public this month or any other month. There is no huge directory of numbers that will be handed over to telemarketers.
- There is no five-year expiration. Originally, numbers were supposed to be renewed in the registry every five years. That went out the window in 2007 when the FTC announced that registrations will carry over indefinitely unless a number is reassigned, disconnected or the registrant takes the number off the list.
When Calls Keep Coming
There is a small catch in the Do Not Call Registry. According to the FTC, "A telemarketer or seller may call a consumer with whom it has an established business relationship for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase, delivery, or payment -- even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, a company may call a consumer for up to three months after the consumer makes an inquiry or submits an application to the company. And if a consumer has given a company written permission, the company may call even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry."
For those reasons, you might want to think twice about giving out your cell phone number when you're doing business. Remember, you always have one weapon in your own personal do-not-call arsenal: asking telemarketers not to call you. Report violators through the Do Not Call Registry site.
So next time that alarming e-mail makes it into your inbox, hit delete and feel safe in the knowledge that your cell phone number is in good hands.
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Comments (Page 1 of 4)
I seem to remember our old 'friend' George W Bush authorizing the release of cell phone numbers to telemarketers and/or anyone who was willing to pay the 'current fee' for the database info.
I gave up my landline years ago and I know I am getting more and more telemarketing calls to my cell this year than any time during the six years I have had this cell phone number!
Thanks Georgie boy!
Telemarketing should be banned......just like alcohol should be banned. (again)
Simzee, what does alcohol have to do with the Do Not Call Registry?
Rats!! It just started raining....damn that George Bush!
Simply cannot comprehend all this consternation over 'telemarketing'. I've been using a land line and cell phone for years and never had a problem with them. I simply "hang up" or disconnect. End of problem. On those persistent enough to call again, a shrill whistle into the receiver and voila, no more calls.
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I take issue with the facts here. I'm on the Don't Call list, and I've never done business with the companies which have called me. The Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido, CA repeatedly bugged the crap out of me and falsely promised me each time that they would drop my number from the list. I even got this promise from the manager! The only thing that gets rid of telemarketers is to pretend you don't speak English, don't understand them and can't talk to them. That finally worked.
You need to read the whole article..and not jump to your conclusion...there is a real number later in the article.
OK,HOW THE HELL DO YOU CALL. 865-2XXX? OR ANY NUMBER WITH THE LAST NUMBERS ARE XXXX. I WANT ON THE LIST. HOE.
the last 4 digits are 1222. if you actually read the article, they're there.
What they DON'T tell you also is that they can call you as many times as they want to "do a survey." If you do the survey, then you have "done business" with them.
Former President Bush could not hack anything. He could barely speak an intelligent sentence.
Oh and uuuhhh our current uuuuhhh President is uuuuhhh such a great uuuuhhhh speaker uuuuhhhh or is it uuuuhhh BSr that uuuuhhhh he really uuuuhhhh puts our last uuuuhhh President to uuuuhhhh shame uuuuhhhh right?
rifalcon999: don't blame Bush. since you have not had a land line for years, but do have a cell phone, which you have obviously been using to buy/sell/pay, hence your name is on lists that telemarketers have access to because of your own actions. Unless you think President Bush hacked into your cell phone for some reason!
They are just showing it within the BS email SAMPLE. The actual number is listed later under What's True--call 888-382-1222 or visit donotcall.gov.
Don't call the 888-382-xxxx - its for some kind of sex call business. Call 888-832-1222. I don't know why they list the other xxxx number.Probably wasn't by accident.
They've also gone to "texting," their telemarketing crap. So be ready to hit delete on this under the table scam also.
Forget the "do not call" list. I want a "do not text" list. Now that my name's on that list (which by the way you can Google "do not call list" to get on it) I keep getting adertisement texts! UGH!
The correct phone number for the Do Not Call Registry is 888-382-1222. 832 is an incorrect prefix
The Do Not Call Registry site also has a place to report violators, but all too often I get calls from telemarketers where the caller ID lists an invalid phone number, like an area code of 000 or other such things. Unfortunately the site for reporting violators only accepts valid phone numbers, and there's no way to contact anyone through the site to ask for help. The phone companies also bear some responsibility here - they should allow us to block calls from phony numbers.