Americans west of the Mississippi River will be able to register Friday on a national Do-Not-Call Registry, a database designed to stem the surging number of unwanted telemarketing calls.
The Federal Trade Commission is administrating the registry, but the government agency will work with the Federal Communications Commission to coordinate enforcement.
The registry, according to the FCC, will affect all telemarketers, except tax-exempt non-profit groups.
States east of the Mississippi River will be able to list a number on the registry beginning July 7. Those people wishing to be listed on the registry can place a phone number on the registry via the Web or by calling a toll-free number. There is no cost to list a number.
Today the FCC updated its rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
The FCC declined to displace do-not-call lists administered by states. The FCC said it would work with states to ensure the state and national lists are in sync.
Under the rules the do-not-call registry will cover interstate and intrastate commercial telemarketing calls. Current do-not-call lists that prevent specified companies from calling a number will remain available to consumers. Consumers also can provide express written permission to certain companies from which they desire to receive calls.
The FCC said companies, even if they have done business with a certain customer, are prohibited from contacting that customer once the person has been placed on a do-not-call list.
The regulator also established rules that relate to automatic dialers used by telemarketers. Under the rules predictive dialers can abandon no more than three percent of calls answered by someone. A call, according to the FCC, will meet that definition of “abandoned” if it is not routed to a live sales agent within two seconds of the recipient’s greeting.
The rules also call for telemarketers to deliver a prerecorded identification message when a call is abandoned and let the phone ring for 15 seconds or four rings before disconnecting an unanswered call. The rules also prohibit telemarketers from blocking caller ID information.
