Everything You Need to Know About Opting Out of Unwanted Solicitations
The other day in my Financial Survival class, we discussed consumer protection legislation – one of the things discussed was the ability to opt out of unwanted solicitations. It was nearly three years ago that the Federal Government created the "Do Not Call Registry" to make it easier and more efficient for you to stop getting telemarketing sales calls you don’t want. This is informational only – not a personal "recommendation" – simply an FYI …
You can register [both land line and cell phones] online at (http://donotcall.gov/) if you have an active e-mail address (seems like a safe assumption by virtue of receiving this e-mail). You can also call toll free 1-888-382-1222 (be sure to call from the number that you want to register). Registration is free and is effective for a five year period.
Enforcement began on October 1, 2003. Solicitors affected by the legislation are now required to stop the calls within 31 days of registration. Unfortunately, it won't stop all telemarketer calls. Banks, phone companies, airlines, insurance companies, nonprofit charitable organizations, and politicians are not under the jurisdiction of the FTC, and won't be impacted by the list. In addition, the list only applies to calls across state lines. Sales calls within a State will still be permitted unless you also opt out of solicitations through your State ‘do not call’ registry (or if your State integrates their list with the national registry - read info regarding your state to find
out). State registration eliminates in-state solicitations the national registry won't.
- State registry info: http://www.the-dma.org/government/donotcalllists.shtml
- For Missouri Residents: http://www.ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/nocalllaw.htm
- Additional info: http://www.natlconsumersleague.org/privacy/stopcalling2.htm
- 888-5-OPTOUT
The above information will stop most phone solicitations. You can also request to get off mailing lists (http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html). The Federal Trade Commission has also developed a form letter you can send to the credit bureaus that sell your information to other agencies. The opt-out form is located at http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/cred-ltr.htm as are the addresses of the bureaus to mail the form.
