What if a consumer asks a specific division of a corporation not to call?
- denying or interfering with a person’s Do Not Call rights.
- calling outside the permissible hours.
- abandoning an outbound telephone call.
- placing an outbound telephone call delivering a prerecorded message to a person without that person’s express written agreement to receive such calls, and without providing an automated interactive opt-out mechanism.
- failing to transmit Caller ID information.
- using threats, intimidation, or profane or obscene language.
- causing any telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass.
The Do Not Call Provisions
The original TSR contained a provision prohibiting calls to any consumer who previously asked not to get calls from or on behalf of a particular seller. Amendments to the TSR retain that provision, and also prohibit calls to any numbers consumers have placed on the National Do Not Call Registry maintained by the FTC.
The Entity-Specific Do Not Call Provision
It is a TSR violation to call any consumer who has asked not to be called again (the “entity-specific Do Not Call” provision). A telemarketer may not call a consumer who previously has asked not to receive any more calls from or on behalf of a particular seller or charitable organization. It also is a TSR violation for a seller that has been asked by a consumer not to call again to cause a telemarketer to call that consumer. Sellers and telemarketers are responsible for maintaining their individual Do Not Call lists of consumers who have asked not to receive calls placed by, or on behalf of, a particular seller. Calling a consumer who has asked not to be called potentially exposes a seller and telemarketer to a civil penalty of $46,517 for each violation.
Does a call from a different division violate the TSR? Distinct corporate divisions generally are considered separate sellers under the TSR. If a consumer tells one division of a company not to call again, a distinct corporate division of the same company may make another telemarketing call to that consumer. Nevertheless, a single seller without distinct corporate divisions may not call a consumer who asks not to be called again, even if the seller is offering a different good or service for sale.
On the question of charitable solicitations, telefunders must maintain individual Do Not Call lists for charities on whose behalf they make telemarketing calls. Calling someone who has asked not to be called on behalf of a charitable organization potentially exposes the telefunder that places the call to a civil penalty of $46,517 for each violation.
Example:
If Telefunder 2 also conducts a fundraising campaign for Charity B, Telefunder 2 may call potential donors on behalf of Charity B even if they’re on Charity A’s Do Not Call list. But when calling on behalf of Charity B, Telefunder 2 may not call potential donors on Charity B’s Do Not Call list.
The National Do Not Call Registry Requirements
The FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry has been accepting registrations from consumers who choose not to receiving tele. Consumers can place their telephone numbers on the National Registry online or by calling a toll-free number. Only phone numbers are included in the National Registry. This means that all household members who share a number will stop receiving most telemarketing calls after the number is registered. Consumers may register both their residential “land line” telephone numbers and their wireless phone numbers.
Sellers, telemarketers, and their service providers have been able to access the Registry through a dedicated website since . It is a TSR violation to make any covered calls without having accessed the Registry. Sellers and telemarketers must update their call lists — that is, delete all numbers in the National Do Not Call Registry from their lists — at least every 31 days.