There may be nothing more irritating than having your nice quiet dinner at home marred by a call from a telemarketer. But there are solutions to stop many, if not all, of the unwanted calls.
What should I do?
Your best resource is the federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov), where you can register your home phone or mobile phone number. The registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission. Once your phone has been registered for 31 days, most telemarketers should no longer be contacting you. If they do, you can file a complaint through the National Do Not Call website.
Unfortunately, the Do Not Call list does not apply to business numbers. While there’s nothing that prevents you from registering your business number, and you may see a drop-off in calls afterward, it’s not illegal for a telemarketer to call the number even if you have registered it. If you work from home, telling the telemarketer they are calling a business number also might put an end to the calls.
You are able to register both your home and business fax numbers to prohibit anyone from sending unsolicited fax advertisements to your fax machine.
Some states also have their own Do Not Call lists, so it’s worth checking to see how your state’s list compares to the national one.
Are there any exceptions?
As much as you may want to do so, there is no way to block all unsolicited phone calls, even if you’re on the National Do Not Call Registry. Political organizations, groups conducting telephone surveys and charities are still permitted to call you.
A company that already has an established business relationship with you also has the right to call. According to the FTC, calls can continue up to 18 months after your last purchase or payment with the company in question. And if a consumer submits an application or makes an inquiry to a company, that company can call for up to three months.
Even if you have an existing business relationship with a particular company, you can request to be put on the company’s own do not call list, and they won’t be allowed to call you again.
More Personal Finance Questions? Browse answers or ask finance questions online.
Related Articles
->Should I Enroll in My Credit Card’s Lost Wallet Protector Program?
->How Can I Avoid Identity Theft?
->Protect My Bank Account After the Epsilon Data Breach
->Should I Use a Debt Settlement Company Now?
