A new regulation to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) do-
not-call list that began Jan. 29 requires telemarketers to
have themselves identified on caller IDs. Up until now,
telemarketers could show up on those with caller ID
functions on their telephones as “out of are” and not
include a phone number.
Under the new FTC rules, the name displayed by caller ID
must either be the company trying to make a sale or the
firm making the call. The display must also include a phone
number that consumers can call during regular business
hours.
The change was part of the rules that created the do-not-
call registry, which consumers can use to block certain
telemarketers from calling. Telemarketing companies were
given extra time to install the technology needed to
display their names and numbers.
FTC spokeswoman Cathy McFarlane tells The Associated Press
that the registry has been a huge success. “People are
talking to other people who say, ‘I don’t get telemarketing
calls any more,'” she says.
The FTC has received more than 100,000 complaints so far.
While the FTC has yet to take any action against a firm for
violating the do-not-call list, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) in December issued a complaint against
California-based CPM Funding Inc./California Pacific
Mortgage. People can register numbers or file complaints at
www.donotcall.gov or
by calling (888) 382-1222. Firms that call numbers on the
list face fines of up to $11,000 for each violation.
