Do not believe Do Not Call rumors

The national Do Not Call list has had to deal with its share of rumors.

The most recent whisperings about the effort that has saved people from irksome telemarketing calls have been that phone numbers soon will be knocked off the list.

While it's true that those on the list were supposed to have to re-register five years after it was implemented in 2003, officials from the Federal Trade Commission recently told a House committee that it would be best to keep the numbers on permanently. Legislation is proceeding in Congress to make that possible.

"We're not going to do anything until Congress or the FTC have figured out a way to make the numbers permanent," said Mitch Katz, public affairs specialist for the FTC. "Consumers don't need to worry about their numbers coming off."

The list does go through a monthly scrubbing process -- and has since it was implemented -- to get rid of disconnected or redirected numbers.

Zachary Rice, director of government affairs for the Indianapolis-based American Teleservices Association, which represents companies that use call centers, said that was his group's main concern.

"We don't want to be calling people that do not want to be called, but if a phone number is disconnected or reassigned, those should be taken off the list because they may be reassigned to someone who wants us to call," he said.

Rice said the initiative has been good for consumers and not as painful as the telemarketing industry had thought it would be.

Although some telemarketing employees were laid off, Rice said the vast majority of companies already had internal do-not-call lists.

"Why would you waste the time and man-hours with people who just don't want to be called?" he said. "It's going to be just a bigger headache for a lot of consumers to go back and re-register."

The latest rumor flying around about the national registry isn't the only one to have popped up through the years.

One that won't go away is that all unregistered cell phone numbers will be given to telemarketers.

This rumor has been spread through e-mail since 2003 in messages like this one: "In just four days from today, all U.S. cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketing companies, and you will begin to receive sales calls."

While cell phones can be registered on the Do Not Call list, there's no set deadline to do so, and numbers won't be released en masse to anyone, according to Bob Bulmash.

"That's baloney; that's just not and never will happen," said Bulmash, a Warrenville man who owns Private Citizen Inc., an anti-telemarketing group based in Naperville.

The Federal Communications Commission prohibits telemarketers from using automatic dialing machines to call cell phones, which has meant few telemarketing calls are made to cell phone users.

Bulmash started his group in 1988 -- 15 years before the national legislation.

Initially, Bulmash didn't sign up for the national Do Not Call registry because he wanted to compare its effectiveness to his own company.

"The Do Not Call list indeed reduced the number of fraudulent, outright violative calls," he said. "However, there was no difference in the number of political calls and survey calls."

Those kinds of calls can't be blocked by the FTC, and Bulmash said they have actually increased.

Overall, however, Bulmash said the list works. He said that's being proven by how much his own service, which costs $20, has dropped off. He tries to get numbers off survey and not-for-profit lists exempt from the federal act.

"My goal was always to successfully go out of business," he said. "Unfortunately, because of the survey research, because of the political calls that are just going to be overwhelming in the next year, we're still out there helping people."

David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, said his group also has had to fight rumors, including one that said that those who want to be on the Do Not Call list have to pay for it.

"We have heard cases of unscrupulous people trying to make money off it," he said.

Another major issue CUB, a consumer activist group on utility issues, has encountered is that of a telemarketer calling to encourage people to sign up for the list.

However, that telemarketer can then claim to have an established business relationship with the consumer, which allows the telemarketer to continue to call.

"There's a very perverse irony about that," Kolata said.

There are two simple ways to be registered on the list: visit www.donotcall.gov or call (888) 382-1222.

"We have more than 145 million numbers on there," the FTC's Katz said. "It's extremely effective; people love it."

Do Not Call

How to register:Visit www.donotcall.gov or call (888) 382-1222

Who's exempt:Registered numbers are still allowed to receive political calls, survey calls and charitable solicitations. Companies that consumers can conduct business with may also still call.

Complaints:If telemarketers are still calling after a number has been on the registry for 31 days, a complaint can be filed at www.donotcall.gov. The Federal Trade Commission has initiated 27 cases since 2003.

Source: Federal Trade Commission