Senator Fuschillo: Do Not Call List Requires Re-registering After Five Years, New Yorkers Urged To Re-enroll To Continue Blocking Unwanted Telemarketers

Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. announced today that many of the telephone numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, which protects people from unwanted telemarketing calls, will begin to expire on July 1, 2008. Telephone numbers stay on the Do Not Call list for only five years and must be re-registered to stay on the list longer than that. New Yorkers who wish to remain on the list after five years and continue to block unsolicited calls, can visit the website www.donotcall.gov or call toll-free 1-888-382-1222 to re-register their phones numbers on the list.

Senator Fuschillo (R-Merrick), who is Chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee, explained that the National Do Not Call Registry was first established in July 2003. Due to the current federal regulation that phone numbers remain on the list for only five years, those people who signed up for the registry back in 2003 will become vulnerable to telemarketing calls next summer unless they re-enroll in the registry before the five years is up.

Senator Fuschillo today also called on the federal government to make the National Do Not Call Registry permanent, eliminating the requirement that phone numbers must be re-registered every five years.

“Everyone deserves privacy in their own home and protection from nuisance telemarketing calls. The Do Not Call Registry greatly reduces the volume of unsolicited phone calls into our homes. I urge all New Yorkers to call or visit the Do Not Call Registry website to remain on the list or to register for the first time to stop these unwanted calls from interrupting their lives,” said Senator Fuschillo. “I am also calling on the federal government to act on legislation that would eliminate the five year registration period and make enrollment on the National Do Not Call Registry permanent. People don’t want the inconvenience of having to dig through their records to figure out when their Do Not Call enrollment expires. Changing the federal regulation will ensure that more people are protected for longer periods of time.”

Enrollment on The National Do Not Call Registry is free. Cell phone numbers can also be placed on the registry. Once a telephone number has been on the list for 31 days, telemarketers are not allowed to call that number. If a telemarketer continues to call a phone number on the list, the consumer can register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Businesses that violate the law are fined.

To find out when a Do Not Call registration expires, visit the www.donotcall.gov website.

Senator Fuschillo was the author of New York State’s Do Not Call law, which was enacted in October, 2000. In 2003, when the federal government created the National Do Not Call Registry, the state registry was merged with the national registry.

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