Federal Law

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), Public Law 102-243
(1991), amended Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.,
by adding a new section, 47 U.S.C. Section 227. Amended July 26, 1995

It is mandated by this law that if you request to be removed from a telemarketers call
list they must comply. The telemarketing company must then keep your telephone number
on a do not call list for a period of 10 years.

You can read this at the FCC web site. The section pertaining specifically
to requests for removal is near the end of the document and is identified as
(vi) Maintenance of do-not-call lists. - CLICK HERE


What This Means To You

This means that your easiest solution to stopping telemarketers is to say:

"Please remove me from your solicitation list" - or "Please place this number on
your do not call list" - or anything similar that indicates the telemarketer is
to remove you from their database.

The telemarketer will reply with an indication that he will do so, but will usually state
that it will take up to 60 days to be effective. In reality all the telemarketer does is make a
quick click of the mouse or push a button. Your request is usually honored immediately and
calls from that telemarketing company will stop immediately. You will notice an immediate
and dramatic reduction in the number of calls you receive from telemarketing sources.

This solution is your best way of handling calls you actually answer. Being irate, or talking
about anything at all is not worth your time, and may be counterproductive.
Telemarketers have stated that irate clients are taken as a challenge and the
number is marked for recall.

Note that the removal request from you is legal notice to that company. If they
don't comply you have civil recourse, perhaps receiving between $500 to $1500 per call
if you win your case. However, you must keep very good records.

It should also be noted that tax exempt non-profit orginizations are exempt from this law.