Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Telemarketing calls are an annoyance, but putting
your number on the Do Not Call list does not mean you won’t receive any
unwanted calls. It should reduce the number of sales calls, but there are many exceptions.
For example, political calls aren’t stopped by
placing your number on the Do Not Call list.
Confused? A recent survey from the Consumer
Federation of America found that most adults don’t know their basic
telemarketing rights. The CFA is offering a guide on its website to help
consumers avoid telemarketing fraud. It can be found at consumerfed.org/fraud.
“This is all very complex and confusing,” said Susan
Grant, CFA’s director of consumer protection. “If people want to know more, the
guide will give them the ins and outs. Knowing your rights can help you tell
the difference between legitimate telemarketing offers and scams.
“We want consumers to ask themselves, ‘Should this
company be calling me? Why am I getting a recorded sales pitch when I never
gave this company written permission to make them to me? Why doesn’t the
company’s phone number show on my Caller ID’? And then hang up if something is
wrong,” Grant said.
“There are other clues to look for as well, such as
whether telemarketers are asking for payment up front to help you settle your
debts and whether they only accept payment using a money transfer service or a
prepaid card product,” she said.
In 2012 the Florida Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services received 17,728 consumer complaints about possible violations
of the Do Not Call list. Those complaints ranked first, with complaints about
telemarketing ranking second at 4,288.
The most frequent violations of the Do Not Call law
occur because a solicitor: failed to identify his or her true first and last
names and the business on whose behalf he or she is soliciting immediately; called
a telephone number on the Do Not Call list; or made a pre-recorded sales call
to either a subscriber to the list or a non-subscriber.
There’s lots to know. Companies with which you have
an existing business relationship are not violating the rules when they call
you. A company may call you for up to 18 months after you buy something, or for
three months after you inquire about something or submit an application.
Calls from political organizations, charities,
newspaper publishers, debt collectors and people conducting surveys also are
not covered by Do Not Call, along with a few other exceptions. But you can
screen them on Caller ID and not answer them. If you don’t have Caller ID, let
the calls go to voice mail. However, if a telemarketer is hired by a charity to
call seeking donations, it is covered by these rules.
Registrations with the National Do Not Call Registry
and on Florida’s Do Not Call list are free, and the state recommends
registering on both.
Landline and cellphone numbers can be registered. Go
to www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 to register with the national list.
Sign up for the statewide Do Not Call program at www.800helpfla.com
It takes up to 31 days from registering a phone
number on the national list for companies to remove it from their telemarketing
lists. The state’s list is updated quarterly.
Even if you don’t put your number on the Do Not Call
list, telemarketers must stop calling you if you tell them over the phone not
to call again.
Keep in mind that no sales calls are allowed before
8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
When you answer the call, the telemarketer must
promptly tell you that it is a sales call or a call on behalf of a charity, the
name of the seller or charity, and what it is selling or that it is asking for
a donation.
The telemarketer must tell you the total cost of the
product or service before asking for payment, and can’t charge your account
until you have agreed to make a purchase or donation and to have that account
charged for it.
Telemarketers are not allowed to ask for any payment
in advance for services to help you settle or reduce your debts, repair your
credit record, get a loan, or recover money you lost to another telemarketer.
Specific rules cover robocalls — calls that use a
prerecorded message or are made with an autodialer. A telemarketer can only
call your landline or cellphone using a prerecorded message to try to sell you
something if you gave the company written consent to make such calls to you.
Learn more at http://www.fcc.gov/guides/robocalls
If you have Caller ID a telemarketer must transmit
its phone number.
If the Caller ID says “blocked,” “unknown” or
something similar, it’s a danger sign of fraud, the CFA says.
However, Caller ID rights do not apply to political
calls, calls made by charities and calls to take surveys.
Your Caller ID rights exist even if your number is
not registered on Do Not Call.
To file a complaint in Florida go to .800helpfla.com
or call 1-800-435-7352. To file a complaint with the national Do Not Call list,
go to donotcall.gov.
More info here >>>
