Source: https://www.donotcallcompliance.com/do-not-call-laws.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 22:37:49+00:00

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The routine process of "scrubbing" your telephone lists includes comparing your lists to the most recent National and/or State Do Not Call Registry lists. Any new telephone numbers that have been added to the National and/or State Do Not Call Registry lists within the last 31 days that appear on your lists will be removed. Your lists will only contain those numbers you are allowed to call.
By subscribing to the services of Telemarketing Do Not Call, you can rest assured that your marketing efforts are not wasted.
This page contains important information for sellers and telemarketers regarding the do not call laws and regulations enforced by the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule. This information was selected and excerpted from the FTC's website.
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.
The do not call provisions of the TSR cover any plan, program or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. This includes calls by telemarketers who solicit consumers, often on behalf of third party sellers. It also includes sellers who are paid to provide, offer to provide, or arrange to provide goods or services to consumers.
The National Do Not Call Registry covers intrastate telemarketing calls under the FCC's rules. You can find information on the FCC’s regulations at www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall/.
Charities that are calling on their own behalf to solicit charitable contributions are not covered by the requirements of the national registry. However, if a third-party telemarketer is calling on behalf of a charity, a consumer may ask not to receive any more calls from or on behalf of that specific charity. If a third-party telemarketer calls again on behalf of that charity, the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000 ($40,000 beginning 08/01/16).
7. Do the do not call provisions of the TSR cover tax exempt organizations?
Entities that have been granted tax exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code are not necessarily Exempt Organizations for purposes of the National Do Not Call Registry. See, e.g., FTC v. National Consumer Council, Inc. and FTC v. Debt Management Foundation Services, Inc. There, the FTC successfully challenged the status of a purported nonprofit organization whose role in fact was simply to generate leads for other firms which then charged consumers thousands of dollars in fees for their services.
A company with which a consumer has an established business relationship may call for up to 18 months after the consumer’s last purchase or last delivery, or last payment, unless the consumer asks the company not to call again. In that case, the company must honor the request not to call. If the company calls again, it may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000 ($40,000 beginning 08/01/16).
If you are not an Exempt Organization and you have nevertheless subscribed to the registry as an Exempt Organization, you may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties. If you subscribed as an Exempt Organization by mistake, and wish to withdraw your subscription, please contact the HELPDESK (at the FTC's website).
To qualify for this type of exemption, an organization must be truly nonprofit B. That is, it must not be organized to conduct business for its own profit or the profit of its members. Please note that an organization that has been incorporated as a nonprofit or recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt is not necessarily an Exempt Organization for purposes of the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC has successfully charged that an organization that purports to be a nonprofit is not exempt if the organization is, in fact, operated for the profit of its members, officer, or affiliated for-profit companies. For example, review FTC v. National Consumer Council, Inc., and FTC v. Debt Management Foundation Services, Inc.
Sellers and telemarketers are allowed to call any consumer who has given his or her express agreement to receive calls, even if the consumer’s number is in the National Do Not Call Registry. The consumer must give express agreement in writing to receive calls placed by—or on behalf of—the seller, including the number to which calls may be made, and the consumer’s signature. The signature may be a valid electronic signature, if the agreement is reached online. For more information, please see the Exemptions to the National Do Not Call Registry Provisions section of Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Whether your organization is exempt is a determination that requires consideration of not only the FTC’s regulations, but also regulations enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). For more information about the FCCs regulations, see the FCC’s website at www.fcc.gov.
The FTC Act at 15 U.S.C. ? 41-58 and related case law.
The Communications Act at 47 U.S.C. ? 151-757 and related case law.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) at 47 USC ?27 and related case law.
The Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud Abuse Prevention Act at 15 U.S.C. ? 6101-6108 and related case law.
The Telemarketing Sales Rule at 16 C.F.R. ?310 and related Agency statements and case law.
The FCC’s rules implementing the TCPA at 47 C.F.R. ?64.1200 and related Agency statements and case law.
NOTE: You may also want to review the requirements in those states in which you plan to do business and/or to which you plan to place calls. Many states prohibit calls to telephone numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Some sellers are exempt from the FTC’s rules, but are required to access the registry under the FCC’s rules. As explained above, some entities (Exempt Organizations) are exempt from accessing the national registry under both agencies’ rules (see “11. What is an Exempt Organization?”). These Exempt Organizations still may access the registry voluntarily, and do not have to pay a fee for that access. They must, however, submit appropriate certification information to gain access to the registry.
The registry can be accessed only through the fully automated and secure website at www.telemarketing.donotcall.gov. The first time you access the registry, you must set up a profile and provide identifying information about you and your organization. If you are a telemarketer or service provider accessing the registry on behalf of your seller-clients, you will be required to identify your seller-clients and provide their unique Subscription Account Numbers (SANs). The only consumer information available from the registry is telephone numbers. After you (or the company telemarketing on your behalf) have accessed the registry and downloaded telephone numbers the first time, you’ll have the option of downloading only changes in the data that have occurred since the last time you accessed the registry.
If your calls are covered by the registry, you have to synchronize your lists with an updated version of the registry at least every 31 days.
21. What format does the registry use?
Data is available from the national registry using Internet-based formats and download methods that serve both small and large businesses. Data also is available in three different sets: full lists, change lists, and small list look-ups. Full lists and change lists are available as flat files or XML tagged data files. You indicate your preference for flat files or XML tagged data files as part of your profile.
With a Web browser, you may access a secure Web page that allows you to select the download set that you prefer. For the small list lookup, you will be asked to enter from one to 10 telephone numbers on an online form. After entering the numbers and clicking a button, the national registry will display the list of numbers you entered and whether each number is in the national registry.
You will be limited to the numbers in the area code(s) to which you have subscribed. The full list will contain just 10-digit telephone numbers, with a single number on each line. For the change list in flat file format, each line of the file will contain a telephone number, the date of the change, and an “A” (for Added) or “D” (for Deleted). The change list data will be fixed-width fields.
For those who select XML tagged data, the XML tags include: a login and encrypted password; the name and email address of the company contact person; certification that access to the registry is solely to comply with the provisions of the TSR; the account number(s) for which the download is being performed; and whether a full list or change list is to be downloaded.
For both flat files and XML tagged data, if you select a change list, you will be provided all telephone numbers that have been added to, or deleted from, the registry since the date of your previous access. Change lists, for both flat files and XML tagged data, are available to provide changes on a daily basis (representing the additions and deletions from the day before).
To assist in automating the download process, the national registry offers the option to set up Web services for requesting change lists in XML tagged data format.
22. How much does it cost to access the registry?
Data for up to five area codes is free. Beginning October 1, 2014, the annual fee is $60 per area code of data (after five) up to a maximum annual fee of $16,482.
23. How often do I have to pay a fee?
The fee must be paid annually. Payment of the fee provides access to the data for an “annual period,” which is defined as the twelve months following the first day of the month in which the seller paid the fee. For example, a seller who paid its annual fee on September 15, 2004, has an “annual period” that runs from September 1, 2004 through August 31, 2005.
24. What is the process for renewing my subscription?
The registry began accepting subscription renewals on September 1, 2004. Organizations are notified of their expiration dates when they log on to the system. An organization may renew its subscription no earlier than one month before its expiration. Subscriptions also are renewable after they expire. The new 12-month subscription period runs from the first day of the month in which an organization renews. Or, if the organization renews during the month before its expiration, the new 12-month subscription runs from the first day of the next month — starting immediately after the old subscription ends.
25. Who must pay the fee?
All sellers covered by the TSR must pay the appropriate fee for an area code of data before they call, or cause a telemarketer to call, any consumer within that area code, even those consumers whose telephone numbers are not on the registry. (Access to five or fewer area codes is free.) The only exceptions are for sellers that call only consumers with which they have an existing business relationship or written agreement to call, and do not access the national registry for any other purpose. Exempt Organizations that voluntarily want to access the national registry to prevent calling consumers whose numbers are on the registry may access it at no cost (see “10. What is an Exempt Organization?”). NOTE: Entities that have been granted tax exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code are not necessarily Exempt Organizations for purposes of the National Do Not Call Registry. See, e.g., FTC v. National Consumer Council, Inc. and FTC v. Debt Management Foundation Services, Inc. There, the FTC successfully challenged the status of a purported nonprofit organization whose role in fact was simply to generate leads for other firms which then charged consumers thousands of dollars in fees for their services.
Telemarketers and service providers may access the registry, at no cost, through the use of their seller-client’s unique Subscription Account Number (SAN). Even though they are not required by law to do so, telemarketers and service providers may gain access to the national registry on their own behalf, but they must pay a separate fee for that ability. But before placing calls on behalf of a seller-client, telemarketers are required to ensure that their seller-client has a valid SAN.
26. How can I pay the fee?
Fees are payable only via credit card (which permits the transfer of data in the same session, if the payment is approved) or electronic funds transfer (EFT). EFT requires you to wait approximately three days for the funds to clear before data access will be provided. The FTC does not accept checks or any other form of payment. You must pay the fee prior to gaining access to the registry. Sellers can pay the fee directly or through their telemarketers or service providers (to which the seller or exempt entity has provided the necessary authority).
27. What if I pay for a small number of area codes, and then later in the year expand my business to callmore area codes? Will I have to pay twice?
If you need to access data from more area codes than you initially selected, you may do so, but you will have to pay for access to those additional area codes if your total number of area codes exceeds five. Beginning October 1, 2009, obtaining additional data from the registry during the first six months of your annual period will require a payment of $59 (as of October 01, 2014, it is now $60) for each new area code. During the second six month period, the charge to obtain data from each new area code will be $30. Payment for additional data provides you with access to the additional data for the remainder of your annual period.
28. What happens after I pay for access?
After payment is processed, you will be given a unique Subscription Account Number (SAN) and permitted access to the appropriate portions of the registry. Using that SAN in future visits to the website will speed the time needed for access. On subsequent visits to the website, you will be able to download either a full updated list of numbers from your selected area codes, or a more limited list, consisting of changes to the registry (both additions and deletions) that have occurred since the day of your last download. This limits the amount of data that you need to download during each visit. The change file will consist of each telephone number that has changed, whether it was added or deleted, and the date of the change.
29. If I’m a telemarketer or service provider working for a seller, can I use the seller’s account number to access the registry?
30. What if a seller uses one telemarketer at the beginning of the year and switches to another later in the year? Will the seller have to pay twice?
No. Each seller will have a SAN that it can give to the telemarketers and service providers who may access the registry on the seller’s behalf.
31. What happens to companies that don’t pay for access to the registry?
A company that is a seller or telemarketer could be liable for placing any telemarketing calls (even to numbers NOT on the registry) unless the seller has accessed the registry and paid the fee, if required. Violators may be subject to fines of up to $16,000 ($40,000 beginning 08/01/16) per violation. Each call may be considered a separate violation.
32. What if I call a number that’s not on the registry without checking the registry first?
33. What’s my liability if my company inadvertently calls a number on the registry?
34. What if I have problems when I try to access the national registry?
The website at www.telemarketing.donotcall.gov has an online help desk available for email help requests during regular business hours via a secure electronic form. You need to provide your Organization ID and password to access the HELPDESK.
34. What if I lose my password?
If you have forgotten or lost your password, there is a separate link to assist you. To receive a new password, you will need to provide your Organization ID and the email address of your Authorized Representative.
Telemarketing do not call list compliance with Do Not Call Compliance. Register your company and comply with state and federal do not call regulations. Residential and Wireless (cell) telephone number scrubbing.

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