Do Not Call

The phone rang at 7:30 in the morning. Since I have older relatives in frail health, as well as younger relatives expecting babies soon, I picked up the phone immediately and with some anxiety.

I did not expect to hear a heavily accented voice asking for "Steven McDade, please." Naturally, I was less than pleased to hear this voice. "What is this about, please?" I asked.

"We want to offer him a wi wi wah blah blah." he replied.

As you might guess, I couldn't understand what he wanted at all. My husband does have his own business, as a professional clown, so I decided to give the person another chance, in case this was a legitimate business call.

"I'm sorry -- I can't understand what you're saying. Could you please say that a little slower?"

He starts talking again before I'm even finished, so now I really can't understand. I try to ask him one more time, but he keeps trying to talk over me.

"Okay, well, I really can't understand you, but I don't think we're interested. Goodbye."

By this time, I'm running late for work, too. Grrrr. And now I remember that I did sign up for the National Do Not Call registry a couple of months ago. Shouldn't these calls have stopped?

I think most of our calls have stopped. We haven't been hearing from anyone trying to sell us vinyl siding or a home equity loan (great for renters) for a while now. However, there is an exception for business to business calls. These are not covered by the Do Not Call Registry -- so people who are calling my husband's business, which does use our home number, are in the clear.

What else do you need to know about the National Do Not Call Registry? You can sign up for it and get more information at www.donotcall.gov, but here are some more interesting and lesser-known facts about it.

Registering for the list (even if you don't have a home business) doesn't stop all unwanted calls. The list does not cover calls from (or on behalf of) political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors. However, if you wish to avoid these calls as well, you can ask each organization that calls to put you on their individual Do Not Call list. They are supposed to honor this request.

If you buy something from a particular company, they can call you. If you have an established business relationship with a company, the Do Not Call Registry does not apply. They can call you for up to 18 months after your last transaction with them, unless you specifically ask them not to call again.

If you need to file a complaint against a company that you believe should be covered by the National Do Not Call Registry, you need to get the company's name and/or phone number. Don't hang up without getting this information. You can then file a complaint on the registry website, www.donotcall.gov.

What about the timing? Aren't there restrictions that should keep us from getting telemarketing calls at 7:30 a.m.?

Well, yes, sort of. According to federal law, "No personor entity shall initiate any telephone solicitation to a residential telephone subscriber
before the hour of 8 A.M. or after 9 P.M. (local time at the called party's location)." (Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, junkbusters.com) That pesky home business is messing us up again. They think it's a business number, so it's okay to call.

I do recommend the registry for cutting back on unwanted calls. Just do be aware that you'll probably still get calls -- possibly even at 7:30 in the morning.