The National Do Not Call List has been in force for a year and a half now.  Introduced in September 2008, The National Do Not Call List (NDNCL) is a nationwide registry that allows consumers to reduce unwanted telemarketing calls by registering their phone number with the service.  Telemarketers must use this registry to suppress the phone numbers of those consumers who have asked not to receive telemarketing calls prior to conducting any telemarketing campaigns.  Enforceable under the Telecommunications Act, there are significant financial penalties for non-compliance (up to $15,000 per violation).

After an initial flurry of complaints that people with registered numbers were receiving more, rather than fewer calls, most people would now agree that the service seems to have resulted in a significant reduction in unwanted telemarketing.

Critics of the regime have expressed dissatisfaction with the number of exemptions built into the law including exemptions for research companies, registered charities, political parties and their candidates, newspapers soliciting subscriptions, telemarketing to business consumers (B2B calls) and calls to current customers with whom organizations have an established business relationship (EBR).

However, under existing telemarketing laws, all organizations, including those exempted are required to keep and use their own “do not call” file for those individuals who have contacted them and asked them not to call.

So who is responsible for compliance?  The marketer who has initiated the telemarketing campaign is responsible for compliance and must subscribe to the NDNCL.  This is true regardless of whether or not they are doing the telemarketing in-house or through an outsourced call centre.  The outsource provider does not need a license or subscription.  Instead, they are covered under the marketer’s subscription and the service provider can use the marketer’s subscription identifier to download the NDNCL to enable them to run the suppressions.

While the vast majority of medium-sized and large companies are well educated regarding the requirements, there are still a surprising number of small business owners who are not.  In our list brokerage group we still receive list rental requests from individuals who are surprised to hear that a law exists and that they must register and pay for a license in order to comply.

So while there is still a way to go to ensure that all businesses comply with the rules, the majority of marketers have met their obligations to respect consumer’s wishes to not be called.

Susan Oliver, Vice President Marketing and Chief Privacy Officer