Does the National Do-Not-Call List Really Work?

Since June 2003 consumers looking for peace from telemarketer calls have registered their phone numbers on the National Do-Not-Call list. There finally was a tool to stop those pesky telemarketers, who dare to call homes and businesses at all times of the day to offer their sales pitch. But does the registry really work? With the five-year anniversary upon us, it is time to take stock: Does registering a phone number with the National Do-Not-Call list really protect from telemarketing calls? In a nutshell, yes, the list works, but it has its limitations. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a number remains on the list making it a necessity for consumers to routinely check whether their number is still on the list.

Once a consumer places his or her telephone number on the list, telemarketers are prohibited from calling said number or they could be charged a fine of up to $11,000 per violation. In theory, this sounds great. Who doesn't want to get rid of those annoying sales calls? Mealtimes can be quiet again. The phone won't ring, because a telemarketer decided it is the best time to reach potential customers. Children can take a peaceful nap. A dream come true for most American consumers and many took advantage of it since the list began taking numbers in June of 2003. According to the latest count published by the FTC, over 145 million numbers were registered on the National Do-Not-Call list.

Unfortunately, registering with the Do-Not-Call list does not equal no telemarketing calls at all. Certain telemarketing calls are still allowed. It is doubtful consumers will ever be able to completely avoid telemarketers.

Companies and people a consumer does business with or has done business with can still legally call and deliver a sales pitch. Similarly, if a consumer (intentionally or unintentionally) gave a business permission to dial the number for sales purposes, a sales pitch can legally be delivered at any time. Furthermore, calls for political and charitable purposes are also allowed.

Yes, telemarketing calls to numbers registered on the Do-Not-Call list have greatly declined. Yet, telemarketers have also become more resourceful. For example, one trick is the pretence of a survey. A consumer answers a couple of questions and is asked, if it is okay to call back for a couple of follow up questions. If the consumer agrees, the callback is used to legally deliver the sales pitch. The consumer has given the permission for the business to call the number. Other telemarketers use the option of guiding a consumer through a phone tree by making them push button one, two, or three and so forth. This makes the number untraceable. Telemarketers are aware of the fact that consumers will need the business name and phone number in order to report a violation of the Do-Not-Call list rules. The FTC will not take action without this information. Therefore, names and phone numbers are often not provided or only at the very end of the sales pitch, when the consumer has been 'hooked'. Oftentimes, the phone numbers showing up on consumers' caller IDs are only temporary or fake. Many Americans have received calls from "Michelle" or "Rachel" from "Cardholder Services" and the various variations the telemarketers behind these calls use. Once a consumer gets calls from the telemarketers, company, or even scam artists, behind this, the calls are virtually unstoppable.

Obviously, scam artists don't care about the National Do-Not-Call list. Therefore, caution is always of utmost importance, when dealing with any type of unsolicited call to your phone.

Occasionally, if a consumer's number is listed in the public phone book, a telemarketing call from a local business might be received. The local business uses the local phone book as a resource and may not be aware of the Do-Not-Call list regulations. Even if they are aware of it, paying the fee the FTC charges for telemarketers to check the list might be too high for them and they are taking a chance of a first time offense with a consumer, who is not likely to report it.

Another caveat of the National Do-Not-Call list is the re-registration requirement. The registration of a phone number with the list expires after five years. Consumers unaware of this rule will find themselves subjected to telemarketing calls after the expiration date. Originally conceived to weed out numbers no longer in use, it has been a general FTC practice over the last almost five years to obtain such information from the phone companies and to remove the numbers no longer in use. Because of this regularly undertaken maintenance by the FTC, a re-registration requirement of a still active number should be obsolete. A legislative initiative is currently under way to alter the regulation and make registration permanent unless the number is inactivated. Therefore, the FTC has put any phone number expiration on hold.

However, personal experience shows, a registration with the Do-Not-Call list may not be permanent, even if a consumer does not switch number, phone companies, or moves. I placed my phone number on the list shortly after registration was opened for the Do-Not-Call list. An increased occurrence of telemarketing calls by regular businesses over the last half a year made me wonder about the effectiveness of the list. Recently I received a call from a lady trying to land a sales pitch for a South Carolina Beach Resort. After I casually informed her that she had reached a Do-Not-Call number, she insisted it could not be true and that I check with the list to make sure my number is still on there. According to her, her computer would not have dialed my number, if it would be on the list. After simply hanging up, cursing her for being so rude and unapologetic, and wishing her to you know where, I decided to just check it out. Law and behold, my number was no longer on the list.

How could this have happened? Besides that the five-year registration expiration rule was put on hold by the FTC, the end of my five-year registration period was at least half a year away. We did not change numbers, nor did we move. We most certainly did not unregister ourselves, which is an option with the Do-Not -Call list.

Ultimately, I can only venture guesses. The FTC might have simply accidentally dropped my number during one of their routine maintenance deletion rounds. The deletion might have occurred due to a human or software error. Similarly, my phone company might have accidentally added my phone number to the inactive list. This scenario is even more likely as in the summer of 2007 AT&T acquired our local phone company and the conversion to AT&T did not work out that well for us bringing with it major call routing errors and other problems. We will probably never find out, how or why our number was dropped from the list. I immediately re-registered my number, but legally, for the next 31 days, telemarketers can still dial my number for whatever sales pitch they want to bring to my attention, as they are required to update their lists with a Do-Not-Call list check every 31 days.

During my investigation, I also checked into the ease of deleting a number from the Do-Not-Call list. While a consumer can conveniently sign up for the list through the FTC's online website or via phone by dialing toll-free, 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the number one wishes to register, a deletion can only be done by dialing said toll-free number from the number one wishes to delete. Alas, if a friend wants to play a prank on you, or an enemy wants to do an evil dead, they can use your phone and unregister, as long as they have access to it. The very next day, the number is removed and telemarketers can zero in on you.

As this experience illustrates, a registration with the Do-Not-Call list does not guarantee a lifelong defense against telemarketing calls. It is best to routinely check, whether the number an individual consumer registered with the list, is still on it. This is especially true, when an unsolicited call has been received.

In conclusion, it can be confirmed that the list works and consumers will experience a significant decrease in telemarketing calls. However, there are limitations and a routine check whether ones' number is still on the list is a necessity.