Proposed Bill Would Make the
Do Not Call Registrations Permanent

Edwin P. Morrow, CLU, ChFC, CEP,
CFP®, RFC®

More than 50 million phone numbers will be purged from the national Do Not Call registry next year, and although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it will be easy for people to re-register, Congress is considering a legislative fix that would make the list permanent.

The Do Not Call registry was put in place by the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in June 2003. The registry prohibits telemarketers from calling phone numbers on the list. Companies are subject to fines of up to $11,000 for each violation. Charitable, political or survey groups are exempt from the law. In the first week of the program, roughly 18 million Americans added their names to the registry. Today, more than 132 million home and mobile telephone numbers are on the list.

Under the rules written by the FTC and FCC, the registry deletes individuals' numbers after five years, and those people will need to re-register to avoid receiving telemarketing calls again. In an interview with the Associated Press, Lydia Barnes, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, said that re-registering is "incredibly quick and easy to do. It was so easy for people to sign up in the first instance. It will be just as easy for them to re-up."

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) however, says many people may not realize their listing on the Do Not Call registry is expiring. Doyle introduced a bill Sept. 10 to make the registry permanent. Individuals could still choose to take their names off the registry if they decide to do so.

"It makes no sense to force people to sign up again every couple of years," Doyle said. "I suspect very few people are saying, 'Gee, I really miss getting those telemarketing calls at dinnertime. I wish the government would take me off the Do Not Call list.'"

What do you think? If you find the Do Not Call Registry a personal benefit (assuming it is working better for you than for many persons) then perhaps you should contact your Congressperson. But if you feel that it should expire and require re-registration, then you should also make yourself heard.

Ed Morrow, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, CEP, RFC®, is chairman and CEO of the IARFC. He lectures around the world on various aspects of financial planning and practice management. His addresses to organizations such as MDRT, NAIFA, FPA, and SFSP have been widely reprinted. For information about his speaking engagements. Contact: wendy@financialsoftware.com
513 424 1656 ext. 14