Caller ID proviso of do-not-call takes effect

By Jonathan D. Salant
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Starting today, if you have Caller ID you'll know when a telemarketer is trying to reach you. That's when Federal Trade Commission regulations kick in requiring telemarketing firms to identify themselves.

Such calls had shown up on Caller ID as "out of area." Now the name displayed by Caller ID must either be the company trying to make a sale or the firm making the call.

The display also must include a phone number that consumers can call during regular business hours and ask that the company no longer call them.

The change is part of the rules that set up the do-not-call registry, which consumers can use to block calls from certain telemarketers.

Telemarketing companies were given additional time to install the technology needed to display their names and numbers. Some places still do not have Caller ID technology, and firms in those areas do not have to comply.

The do-not-call registry, which took effect in October, now contains 56.3 million phone numbers. Because telemarketers must update their lists of who does not want to be called every three months, consumers who sign up now can expect to see the volume of calls decline in April.

While the telemarketing industry has fought the do-not-call registry, it supported the Caller ID requirement.

"We felt it would go a long way toward helping improve trust and use of telemarketing among consumers," said Louis Mastria, a spokesman for the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group.

The government says people on the list can expect about 80 percent of telemarketing to be blocked. Exempted are charities, pollsters and political campaigns, as well as companies that recently have done business with someone on the do-not-call list.

People can register numbers or file complaints at www.donotcall.gov or by calling (888) 382-1222.

Firms that call numbers on the list face fines of up to $11,000 for each violation.

Telemarketing companies have appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.