Registration Begins for Telemarketing
'Do Not Call' List
Spectrum staff
The state has begun compiling a "Do Not Call" list for people who
would just as soon not receive telemarketing calls, officials said last week.
"This is a great day for Californians who care about privacy ," Sen.
Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, said as she announced that a pre-registration list
is available online.
To get on the list, Californians can go to the state attorney general's Web
site -- http://nocall.doj.state.ca.us
-- and click on the "pre-register" link. Pre-registration is free,
but cannot be done by phone or mail. Phone registration will be available later
this year through the Federal Trade Commission.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer said the Do Not Call list will help people who
are "sick and tired of having their homes invaded by telemarketers who
call with annoying pitches for stuff you don't want to buy and services you
don't want to order."
The state approved Figueroa's measure last year to establish a Do Not Call list,
but enactment was delayed after the federal government announced plans for a
similar list at the national level. Figueroa's law would have required consumers
to pay a fee to get on the list, while the federal list is free.
The pre-registration announced last week gives Californians the opportunity
to sign up with the state, which then will forward the information to the Federal
Trade Commission for the nationwide list. Names will remain on the list for
five years unless a consumer changes numbers or asked to be removed.
Lockyer said the federal list saves California from having to spend $8 million
to create a separate database, and makes it easier for businesses to comply
with the law.
Beginning in October, telemarketers who call a person on the list could face
penalties up to $11,000 per unlawful call, Lockyer said. He said individuals
also may file suit against telemarketers in small claims court.
The Do Not Call law exempts charities, political groups -- including those which
solicit campaign donations for the politicians who wrote the law -- and businesses
with five or fewer employees. It also allows companies to call any person with
whom they have an "established business relationship" for up to 18
months after the last purchase, payment or delivery.
Senior-related groups supporting Figueroa's legislation include AARP, the Congress
of California Seniors, the Older Women's League and California Advocates for
Nursing Home Reform.
The law was opposed by several major phone companies, the Direct Marketing Association
and the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Opponents argued that the law is anti-competitive and provides an advantage
for businesses with a large number of "established business relationships."
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