FTC’s Do Not Call Regulations

FTC’s Do Not Call Regulations

All marketers should be aware of the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Regulations. The attention should be focused on compliance, exemptions and what type of calling is acceptable.

What is the Do not call Registry? 

The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers from consumers who have indicated their preference to limit the telemarketing calls they receive.

The registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. It is enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state officials.

Telemarketing regulations are specific to a campaign to introduce the purchase of goods or services. Any request for removal from the calling list must be honored. Any affiliated entities are included in that regulation.

Most of the regulations for the DNC are for Business-to-Consumers (B2C) calls. Most phone calls to a business (B2B) made with the intent to solicit sales from that business are exempt from Do Not Call provisions.

Some exemptions to the regulations include non-profit charitable organizations, survey calls, and political polling calls are not covered by the definition of “telemarketing” or “telephone solicitations”.

Additionally other situations where there is an exemption from the DNC regulations would be if you are calling someone you have an established business relationship.

If you are calling consumers from whom you have received written permission to call is also included under that exemption. Existing relationships with consumers are typically exempt for a period of 18 months from the last purchase.

If you contact a business to talk about services for your Company and the contact requests that you put them on your internal do not call list, by law you are required to refrain from future calls.

If you continue to reach out to a business after they have requested to be removed from future solicitation, you are subject to the fine associated with non compliance.

Fines for violations can be as high as $16,000 per phone call. Compliance is vital to your organization. For more information on updated regulations, please visit FTC Do not call.

What type of policies do you have in place for handling call requirements? Rich Enterprises Inc has standard operating procedures on call handling.