Pennsylvania launches 'Do Not Call' program

Pennsylvanians evidently wasted no time Tuesday in signing up to thwart telemarketers with the state's new "Do Not Call" program.

Shortly after state Attorney General Mike Fisher announced the launching of the statewide registration program - which should allow residents to significantly reduce the number of unsolicited and unwanted telemarketing calls they receive at home - its Internet Web site and telephone hot line became clogged with responses.

"Today, Pennsylvanians have the power to hang a "do not disturb" sign on their telephones and reclaim a piece of privacy that has been relentlessly invaded by telemarketers," Fisher said Tuesday at a news conference in Harrisburg.

The program was established under state House Bill 1469, amending the Telemarketer Registration Act. On July 31, the attorney general's office entered into a contract with the New York-based Direct Marketing Association to serve as the state's "Do Not Call" list administrator.

The nonprofit organization will receive a list of residents participating in the program from Fisher's office and then make it available to all telemarketers that solicit the state's consumers for goods and services.

Fisher's office created a free 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, toll-free hot line and an online sign-up process that state officials say is "easy to follow" to establish the list. The information will be processed and checked by the attorney general's office and forwarded to Direct Marketing Associates.

Residents will have until Sept. 15 to place their names on the list using either telephone, Internet or mail.

Consumers may register by calling 1-888-777-3406 or visiting www.nocallsplease.com .

To register by mail, send a postcard with your name, address, telephone number and signature to: Direct Marketing Association, DMA Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 1559, Carmel, N.Y., 10512.

Registration information also will be included in the billing statements mailed to the state's 5 million residential telephone subscribers.

Fisher encouraged residents to "be patient" if they experience delays or busy signals and to try to register later.

The hot line is designed to handle about 1,000 callers per hour, and the Web site can process nearly 12,000 registration forms per hour.

Those who register should see a reduction in telemarketing calls by Nov. 1. Consumers who register after Sept. 15 will be included on the next quarterly list.

The "Do Not Call" list will be updated quarterly, and telemarketers will then have 30 days to update their internal files, Fisher said. Those who sign up remain on the registry for five years.

"It's about time consumers received the power to stop annoying telemarketing calls before they even start," said state Rep. Ron Raymond of Delaware County, who spearheaded the legislation.

The new law also prohibits telemarketers from intentionally blocking consumers' caller identification systems.

"My job as attorney general will be to enforce this law and prosecute any telemarketing company that fails to comply with Pennsylvania's newly obtained right not to be bothered at home," Fisher said.

Businesses that fail to comply with the law will be prosecuted under the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection law and could face civil penalties of $1,000 per violation and $3,000 for each violation involving a consumer age 60 or older.

Repeat violators could lose their right to do business in Pennsylvania.

The law excludes telemarketers who have an existing business relationship with consumers or who are calling on behalf of tax-exempt charitable organizations, political parties or candidates and others not involved in the sale of goods and services.

Pennsylvania is one of 22 states to pass a "Do Not Call" law.

Consumers may register for the state's "Do Not Call" program by calling: 1-888-777-3406 or by visiting: www.nocallsplease.com .

To register by mail, send a postcard with your name, address, telephone number and signature to: Direct Marketing Association, DMA Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 1559, Carmel, N.Y. 10512.

Registration information also will be included in the billing statements mailed to the state's 5 million residential telephone subscribers.