info@carolinalaw.com
info@carolinalaw.com
While not as common as they used to be, telephone solicitors and telemarketers are an unwelcome nuisance on your phone. Calls encouraging a purchase, rental, or investment in something, participation in a contest, sweepstakes, raffle, or lottery, or solicitation of charitable donations can take time, keeping you from doing something you’d rather be doing (which is likely almost anything).
There are two types of Do Not Call lists. One is the National Do Not Call Registry, established in 2003 to enforce federal telemarketing laws. If a telemarketer calls you when you are on that list, they are likely violating state and federal law.
Additionally, each company engaging in telemarketing must have its own do-not-call list. If a telemarketer calls you, even if you are not on the national do-not-call list, if you inform them not to contact you again, they must honor that request within a reasonable time, at most 30 days.
Telemarketers must have procedures to ensure that they abide by the federal do-not-call registry and the requirement for their own do-not-call registry. There are also restrictions about when the telemarketer can call you and what the telephone solicitor can say if you choose to speak with them. These protections come from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The TCPA of 1991 protects consumers from unwanted telemarketing calls and messages. It restricts automated dialing systems, prerecorded voice messages, and unsolicited faxes. The TCPA also established rules for telemarketers, such as prohibiting calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. and requiring them to honor the National Do Not Call Registry. Violations of the TCPA can result in significant penalties, making it a crucial regulation for safeguarding consumer privacy.
The TCPA and the National Do Not Call Registry work together to protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing calls. Telemarketers must regularly consult the registry and avoid contacting listed numbers, except for specific organizations like charities and political groups. Violations of these rules can result in significant penalties, ensuring consumer privacy and reducing intrusive calls.
North Carolina’s laws against phone solicitations and telemarketers are more robust than those of the TCPA. North Carolina provides a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation, $1,000 for the second, and $5,000 for every violation after that. Some exceptions exist to these laws, usually dealing with a tax-exempt organization, political campaigns, or polling. Still, even those parties cannot make a solicitation while they contact you.
If you are being harassed by phone calls encouraging a purchase, rental, investment, sweepstakes, raffle, lottery, or charitable donation, we may be able to assist you. It is important to log these calls, take screenshots of incoming calls, and ask your phone company for your phone records. Maginnis Howard takes these cases contingently, and all initial consultations on telemarketing scams are free. We have three conveniently located offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Fayetteville.
Despite the registry’s popularity, some consumers wonder if adding their number will actually stop calls. Unfortunately, scam calls are on the rise. The DNC list does not apply to scammers, but only to legitimate businesses. If you choose to add your number to the registry, it will not guarantee that all unwanted calls stop.
To find out if your number is listed on the Do Not Call registry, visit this site and input your information.
In addition to political and charitable calls, the DNC Registry allows debt collection calls, informational calls, and surveys. However, these calls cannot include a sales pitch.
Yes, but debt collectors have more leeway than telemarketers. Collectors and creditors can contact your cell phone only if the number is manually dialed and there is a human on the other end. Autodialed calls that use a pre-recorded message are not allowed. For more information on debt collection rights, consult the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
