Telemarketing

Background

1. What is the National Do Not Call Registry?

The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers from consumers who have indicated their preference to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. The registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. It is enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state officials.

The registry was created in 2003 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 FTC’s extensive experience enforcing the Rule in the previous seven years. The FTC also held numerous workshops, meetings and briefings to solicit feedback from interested parties, and considered more than 64,000 public comments, most of which favored creating the registry. You can review the entire record of the Rule review.

Telemarketers must transmit Caller ID information in order to comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). Telemarketers are required to transmit their telephone number, and if possible, their name, to consumers' Caller ID services. While it is technologically possible to transmit callers' numbers nearly everywhere, transmitting callers' names may not be available everywhere yet.

To comply with this requirement, a telemarketer may:

• transmit its own number and, where available, its own name, to consumers' Caller ID services, or
• substitute the name of the seller (or charitable organization) on whose behalf it is calling, and the seller's (or charitable organization's) customer (or donor) service telephone number, which is answered during regular business hours.

The FTC acknowledges that some situations may arise when a consumer who subscribes to a Caller ID service does not receive a telemarketer's transmission of Caller ID information, even though the telemarketer has arranged to transmit the information in every call. For example, that can happen if the Caller ID information is dropped somewhere between the telemarketer's call center and the consumer's telephone.

Telemarketers who can show that they took all available steps to ensure the transmission of Caller ID information in every call will not be held liable for isolated instances when the Caller ID information fails to make it to the consumer's receiver. However, a telemarketer's use of calling equipment that can't transmit Caller ID information is no excuse for failure to transmit the required information.

According to the FTC, information transmitted through Caller ID can facilitate the filing of complaints if consumers suspect a caller is violating the National Do Not Call Registry. A consumer whose number has been on the Registry for at least three months must know the date of the call, and either the name or the telephone number of the company that called. Consumers who have signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry can file a do not call complaint at www.donotcall.gov or by phone at 1-888-382-1222. Information about the Federal Communications Commission's telemarketing regulations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, including provisions governing the transmission of Caller ID (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200), is available at www.fcc.gov.

Source: Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the amended Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) on January 29, 2003. Like the original TSR issued in 1995, the amended Rule gives effect to the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. This legislation gives the FTC and state attorneys general law enforcement tools to combat telemarketing fraud, give consumers added privacy protections and defenses against unscrupulous telemarketers, and help consumers tell the difference between fraudulent and legitimate telemarketing.

One significant amendment to the TSR prohibits calling consumers who have put their phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. Another change covers the solicitation of charitable contributions by for-profit telemarketers.

Other key provisions:

• require disclosures of specific information
• prohibit misrepresentations
• limit when telemarketers may call consumers
• require transmission of Caller ID information
• prohibit abandoned outbound calls, subject to a safe harbor
• prohibit unauthorized billing
• set payment restrictions for the sale of certain goods and services
• require that specific business records be kept for two years

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which also regulates telemarketing. The FCC recently amended its TCPA regulations, which touch on many of the topics covered by the TSR. For more information about the TCPA, contact the FCC at www.fcc.gov. The TSR and the TCPA regulations cover nearly all telemarketing with
similar rules.

Many states also have laws regulating telemarketing. The FTC and the FCC are working with states to harmonize Do Not Call requirements at state and federal levels for a unified national system enabling “one-stop” service for consumers, as well as businesses seeking to comply with the requirements. For information about a particular state’s laws, contact the state attorney general’s office or another state consumer protection agency.

If your telemarketing campaigns involve any calls across state lines—whether you make outbound calls or receive calls in response to advertising— you may be subject to the TSR’s provisions. This guide describes the types of organizations and activities that are subject to the TSR and explains how to comply. It is the FTC staff ’s view of the law’s requirements and is not binding on the Commission.

^{Source: Federal Trade Commission}

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the amended Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) on January 29, 2003. Like the original TSR issued in 1995, the amended Rule gives effect to the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. This legislation gives the FTC and state attorneys general law enforcement tools to combat telemarketing fraud, give consumers added privacy protections and defenses against unscrupulous telemarketers, and help consumers tell the difference between fraudulent and legitimate telemarketing.

The National Do-Not-Call Registry is a list of 132 million telephone numbers that may not be dialed by telemarketers. It is maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Consumers may learn more and sign up at www.donotcall.gov.

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