How to Fight Back Against Telemarketers
(US only) Are you sick of telemarketers? You can register to stop lots of them from calling your home.
Note: You cannot register business phone numbers. The National Do Not Call Registry is only for home phone numbers.
What to do
- To register for the National Do No Call Registry, click here. Registration is free.
- Click the Register Now button.
- Enter the phone number(s) you want to register and your email address and click the Submit button. We suggest using a registration email. You must verify your information and then click the Register button.
- The Registry sends an email to the email address you entered. Open it and click on the link to verify your registration. The Registry says it may take upto 30 days for the registration to take effect.
- Print the confirmation for your records.
There are telemarketers who can call you even if you registered for the database. If you receive a call from telemarketers, ask them to put you on their ‘Do not call list.’ Hopefully that will prevent the companies they represent from calling you again.
A little more
The Do Not Call Registry is an effort by the Federal Government to limit the number of telemarketing calls you receive. You register your phone number or numbers with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is the federal consumer protection agency. Most telemarketers are required by law to register with the FTC as well. If your name is on the Do Not Call Registry, telemarketers are required to delete your registered phone numbers from their databases, and to stop calling you for as long as your registration is valid (which is five years).
The Do Not Call Registry does not cover all telemarketers. According to the FTC Website, even if you are registered with the Do Not Call Registry: “calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls.”
That’s why we recommend requesting telemarketers to place you on their ‘Do not call list.’
To learn more about the National Do Not Call Registry, visit the Registry’s FAQ here.
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