My Dragon's Lair Sharing is the reason for my being...: National Do Not Call Registry

*You know and love the Do Not Call list. It may not be perfect, and it seems powerless to stop the automated calls I get from some company promising a great price on cleaning my carpets (and they'll clean the hallway for free!!!), but it's the best thing we have for getting rid of telemarketing nuisance.

The catch with Do Not Call (and it's a small one) is that your registration expires after five years. For the millions of people who signed up when it was rolled out in June 2003, that means their phone numbers (to the tune of 50 million of them) will abruptly be taken off the list in June 2008, without warning. You can, of course, re-register, but I expect many will have long since forgotten that they need to do so.

Good news: A bill introduced in the House on Monday would make Do Not Call entries permanent, eliminating the need to re-register phone numbers. Why is permanence a good thing? Best quote, courtesy of bill sponsor Mike Doyle: "I suspect very few people are saying, 'Gee, I really miss getting those telemarketing calls at dinner time – I wish the government would take me off the do not call list.'"

More news as it develops, but overall it sounds like legislation I can really get behind. To find out when your Do Not Call entry expires, visit the Verify section of the DNC website. To renew your registration (and there's no reason not to do so), visit the Register page. Assuming the bill doesn't make it into law in a timely fashion, make sure you do so before your five years runs out!

LINK: Bill Would Make 'Do Not Call' List Permanent See Comments (91)

*A Pennsylvania congressman wants to help preserve your sanity with a bill that would make permanent the government's do-not-call list for telemarketers.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2003 set up a registry of phone numbers that did not wish to receive telemarketing calls. Consumers entered their home, mobile or work phones numbers on the FTC Web site or called the agency to sign up for the list. Exceptions are made for certain charity or political calls or for companies that have a prior relationship with the customer.

Submitted numbers, however, expire after five years, so numbers currently in the registry are set to be deleted beginning next year.

Legislation introduced Monday by Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., would ensure that entries are never deleted. "It makes no sense to force people to sign up again every couple of years," he said in a statement.

Doyle serves as vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, which has jurisdiction over the do-not-call program.

"I suspect very few people are saying, 'Gee, I really miss getting those telemarketing calls at dinner time – I wish the government would take me off the do not call list," Doyle said.

As the law stands now, over 50 million numbers could be purged from the do-not-call list in the next year, according to Doyle. "The hassle will be tremendous – with no real pay-off," he said. "The best way to deal with this nightmare is to end it before it starts."

Consumers who have entered their number into the do-not-call registry can get a status update online as to when their phone number will be deleted from the database. Users will need their phone number and the e-mail they entered when they initially signed up.

This site, run by the Federal Trade Commission, served one simple yet immensely valuable purpose—to get telemarketers off your phone line, for real. As the Internet arm of the National Do Not Call Registry, it allowed you to register up to three phone numbers; once you had done so, most telemarketers were to be required to remove you from their call lists within three months.

Editors' Note: As of this writing, the ongoing court battle could kill this site permanently but we expect (and hope) it to return to active duty soon.

* National Do Not Call Registry This note is new

If you wish to place your telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry between September 28 and September 30, you will have to click the link provided in the email to complete the transaction by September 30. We recommend that you click the link as soon as you receive the email.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE
NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Your registration will be effective for five years. Register Now

Attention sellers and telemarketers: Go to https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov to subscribe to the National Do Not Call Registry.

If you are an exempt organization, and you wish to scrub your call lists, you may subscribe, but are not required to do so.