"Do Not Call" Registry not valid here? (Austin: real estate, insurance)

[Paulmmm]

I have signed up for the Do Not Call Registry online and by phone 3 or 4 times since my wife and I moved here about a year ago, and it has done no good. I get a call a day (and sometimes more), mostly from credit card, insurance, and real estate companies. I don't have a phone that shows who is calling, so I can't report the numbers. These calls are almost always pre-recorded messages. But 3 times, I have actually had a real person call me, and when I tell them I'm on the "Do Not Call" registry, they basically say "We don't have to go by that here, but we will take you off our own list." These companies are not companies that I already have a relationship with, are not charities, and are not political campaigns (all of which I believe would be exempt from the registry). They are just companies that are cold-calling for business, or even phishing (because some want me to enter other numbers while they have me on the line). I have checked over and over with the Do Not Call Registry, and my number is listed there.

When we lived in California, I registered once and almost never got any calls. In fact, I probably get more calls every 2 weeks here now than I did in the last 5 years in CA.

Sorry to ramble so much before I get to my actual questions - here they are: 1) Is the "Do Not Call Registry" not valid here in Austin or Texas? 2) If it is valid here, does anyone have any suggestions about how to actually make it work?

[TexasHorseLady]

Yes, they do have to go by that here, if you are registered with the federal Do Not Call registry. A phone that will show the number of who is calling is cheap (I've got one that was $10), plus a small fee for the service from your phone carrier. It's worth it. It's VERY easy to turn them in.

I get the occasional call, it's always the same people ("Your vehicle warranty is about to expire" - my vehicle is a 1997 with over 300,000 miles on it and the warranty expired LONG ago), and I turn them in every time. Once in a while I will press 1 just to tell them that we're on the Do Not Call list and that I will be turning them in, but mostly I just report them.

If they tell you they don't have to follow that here, they're lying and you can call them on it.

[AustinExPat]

Originally Posted by Paulmmm

1) Is the "Do Not Call Registry" not valid here in Austin or Texas?

The National Do Not Call Registry is valid in every state, including Texas.

Originally Posted by Paulmmm

2) If it is valid here, does anyone have any suggestions about how to actually make it work?

File your complaints at FCC Consumer Complaints.

It's amazing how many companies and individuals just ignore the law. When they do, let 'em have it! And think about springing for caller id. We got it several years ago to help document harassment, and we liked it so much we never dropped it.

[TexasHorseLady]

One question - you're sure that you signed up for the federal Do Not Call list and not the California Do Not Call list? There are state Do Not Calls and the federal Do Not Call. Signing up for the state one of an individual state won't necessarily get you on the national one.

[Paulmmm]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

One question - you're sure that you signed up for the federal Do Not Call list and not the California Do Not Call list? There are state Do Not Calls and the federal Do Not Call. Signing up for the state one of an individual state won't necessarily get you on the national one.

Yes, it was definitely the federal one. In fact, I just checked again today (I get telemarketer calls on weekends, too), and got the following email verifying it:

Your phone number with the last four digits XXXX was most recently registered in the National Do Not Call Registry on May 16, 2008. Most telemarketers will be required to stop calling you 31 days from your registration date.

Visit https://www.donotcall.gov to do any of these things:
-- to renew your registration
-- to file a complaint

Print this email and keep it for your records.

I think the answer is that I need to get a phone with caller ID on it, like you both suggested. I'm a little leery of "pressing 1 to be removed from our list" because I'm afraid that they're somehow then using my phone number for something else. That's probably being paranoid, but having worked at a bank in the phishing and spoofing area, I know how doing just one simple thing (like pressing a number on an unidentified, prerecorded call or clicking a link on an unknown website/email ) might lead to big problems.

I'm glad to hear that they do have to abide by it here in Texas, although I am curious as to why they ignore it at such a higher rate than in other states.

Thanks for the great suggestions!

[maadimom]

I registered my new number in July. After a couple of weeks, the calls stopped. Then, a few weeks ago, Bank of America started calling me. The third time they called I wasn't as pleasant when I told them that I had asked to be taken off their list. I asked to speak to the supervisor and told them that if I received one more call from them that I was going to cancel my card as they were law breakers since they had been asked to not call. The calls were about adding dismemberment insurance to my card. I wasn't aware that banks were insuring my body parts now, but whatever. I got a very nice apology and haven't received any more calls. I have the Time Warner bundle. It's nice because I can go into the system and program my phone to not answer calls that don't allow for their id to be shown. I know it works because my husband called me from overseas the other day and said a recording came on and told him that the caller blocked all unknown phone calls and if he wanted to speak to someone at that number he'd have to use a different phone....funny. I like the fact that when someone calls, the caller id shows up on my TV so I know before I even get to the phone who it is. I have found that before when I quoted the law to them, companies were more responsive to removing my name from their lists. I don't have it on my computer anymore, but you could look it up and use that on them. Worked well, but that was years ago before the do not call registry.

[TexasHorseLady]

FWIW, if you have done business with a company in the last three months, I believe it is, they can legally call you, but they DO have to put you on their Do Not Call list if you tell them to. Make sure to say, "Please put me on your Do Not Call list," though, not "Please remove me from your call list," because the latter gives them an out.

[car957]

The only part of the "Do Not Call" legislation I dislike is when the Texas Republican and Democratic parties called me during the early election period. I called both of them a number of times (and I never got to speak to anyone) telling them to quit robocalling me at 9:30 PM at night.

Political advertisements are exempt (gutless bast__rds) and I just love it how the legislators can exempt themselves from regulation. Sorry about the rant - I feel better now.

[PurpleLove08]

There's also a little device called Privacy Manager

Block unwanted calls and stop junk faxes - with or without Caller ID - before your phone rings

I know some phone companies offer a service where they will block unidentified calls for you but that can sometimes be $10-20 a month...

I love Privacy Managers since I work at an outbound call center. It just saves me the hassle of talking to someone who truly does not want to be bothered.

It's always nice to educate people [those I call] that we're exempt from the Do Not Call List because we're conducting survey BUT I'd be more than happy to add their number to our internal do not call list.

Best of luck!

[parkk]

Because of this problem the home phone is almost useless. A few years ago being on the no call list worked great, but for some reason it doesn’t anymore. Our phone rigs all the time. We turn off the ringer and just check the answering machine for messages.