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Home / Services / Calculators / Newsletter / Archives Telemarketing and Unsolicited Fax Advertising The FCC has established a "National Do Not Call List" to reduce the number of telemarketing calls that have been flooding our homes. Telemarketers are prohibited from calling individuals who have registered their home telephone number on this list. There are several exceptions from this protection. This only protects residential telephone numbers. It does not protect cell or business telephone numbers. If you have and established business relationship with a telemarketer, putting your number on the "National Do Not Call List" will not prevent them from calling you. Any business that you have had a purchase or transaction within the last 18 months, or you made an inquiry or application within the last 3 months, may call you. You can prevent these calls by asking to be placed on the sellers "Company Specific Do Not Call List". Once you are on the list, the seller may not call you again regardless of whether you continue to do business with them. Telemarketers may continue to call those on the "National Do Not Call List" if they have prior express permission to call. This permission must be evidenced only by a signed, written agreement between the consumer and the seller which states that the consumer agrees to be contacted by this seller, including the number that may be called. This signature may be written or in electronic form. This permission may be in the form of a warrantee registration or a visit to a web site. This agreement shall be in effect as long as you have not asked to be placed on the seller's "Company Specific Do Not Call List". Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations and their independent telemarketers may continue to call without restriction. Telemarketers may continue to call persons with whom he has a personal relationship. The FCC reasons that calls to family members, friends and acquaintances of the caller will be both expected by the recipient and limited in number. If you do not wish to receive these calls ask to be placed on the "Company Specific Do Not Call List". The FCC has determined that an entity must obtain the prior express invitation or permission of the recipient prior to the transmission of an unsolicited fax advertisement. The signature may be written, electronic or digital. There is no "established business relationship: exemption from this rule. Permission to send fax advertising must include the recipient's signature and fax number, and cannot be in the form of a "Negative Option". A fax advertisement containing a telephone number and instructions to call it the recipient no longer wishes to receive such faxes, is a "Negative Option", and is prohibited. A company that requests a fax number on an application or web site could include a clear statement indicating that by providing such fax number, the individual or business agrees to receive fax advertising from the company. Such statement, if accompanied by the recipient's signature will constitute the needed prior express permissions to send fax advertising to that individual or business. If you have any questions about these issues please call our office to discuss them.
(September, 2003 Newsletter)
James E. Newland, CPA 939 Center Road Eastlake, Ohio 44095 440-951-9799 |
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