Quarterly: Winter 2004 - GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS

CBQ >> Winter 2004 Issue

Do-Not-Call Basics

Late last year, the Federal Trade Commission amended the Telemarketing Sales Rule by establishing the National Do-Not-Call Registry. The registry is a database that contains the telephone numbers of people who do not want to receive telephone sales solicitations. Individuals can register by telephone or the Internet. Since October 1, 2003, telemarketers must consult the registry to make sure that they do-not-call any of the telephone numbers listed. Effective January 29, 2004, telemarketers must transmit their telephone number and, if possible, their name to the recipient's caller ID service.

It is important to point out that the FTC rules only apply to interstate calls (i.e., calls made from one state to another).

Business-to-business calls are not covered by the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

Virginia, Maryland & DC have no state do-not-call laws.

WHAT SHOULD YOUR FIRM BE IMPLEMENTING?

Steps To Take

Written procedures
If your company does any cold-calling, the company will need to show that it has a written policy describing the company's plan for complying with the registry. The company's policy should expressly state that the company complies with the FCC and FTC's federal telemarketing rules and the company accesses the registry. The company will also need to show that it has implemented such a plan and that it has a process for monitoring compliance with the rules.
The plan should describe how the company will create its cold-calling lists. Included in this description should be a summary of how the company accesses the registry and uses it to check numbers on its list.
Next, the plan should provide detailed information to the telephone solicitors on how to conduct their calling activities. The policy should provide guidance on the following: Time when calls can be made (safest times: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday); what the telemarketer needs to say during every call (name, company name and have contact information available); and also set forth guidelines on what is unacceptable conduct during a call (examples: repeatedly calling the same number; allowing phone to ring numerous times; or hanging up when consumer begins to request placement on company's do-not-call list).
The policy should describe what representatives of the company should do when they receive requests from consumers requesting the placement of their numbers on the company-specific do-not-call list. This is a list of numbers where consumers have made specific requests to not receive calls. Such a request overrides any exception (such as an established business relationship) that would otherwise allow the business to call the consumer. These lists must be updated every 30 days and a consumer's request to a business is good for five years from the date it is made. The policy should describe how the representatives need to record this information (creation of a standard form is recommended) and to whom the representative will give this information.
Training of Personnel
The company will need to show that it has trained its representatives on its written policy for complying with the rules. Following training, a company might want to have employees sign an acknowledgement form or a sign-in sheet so the company can demonstrate at a later date that its representatives participated in a training session.
Recording
The company will also need to show that it maintains a list of telephone numbers that its representatives cannot contact.
Accessing the Registry
The company will need to demonstrate that it is accessing the registry in a manner that causes it to update its list at least every three months. The company also needs to show that it has in place a process to prevent telephone solicitations to numbers found in the registry. Finally, the company will also need to maintain records documenting its accessing the registry.
Purchasing the Registry
The final step: The company needs to show that its download of the list is only for its own compliance purposes (not co-purchased with another telemarketing company) and that it does not "sell, rent, lease, purchase or use" the list for any purpose other than compliance purposes.

Are telemarketing calls from overseas covered?

Yes. Any telemarketers calling U.S. consumers are covered, regardless of where they are calling from. If a company within the U.S. solicits sales through an overseas professional telemarketer, that U.S. company may be liable for any violations by the telemarketer.

For more info on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, please visit www.donotcall.gov. NAR also has a Do-Not-Call/Fax/Spam Field Guide available at www.realtor.org/libweb.nsf/pages/fg707.