Q: Are the Do Not Call lists still in place? We signed up for the Georgia list, and then the federal list, upon their inception. For several years, we got very few telemarketing calls, but they now seem to be a daily occurrence. Is there a penalty in place, or do these companies know they will not be penalized?
-- Nancy Berlo, Alpharetta
A: The Do Not Call laws are in place, a spokesman for Georgia's Public Service Commission told Q&A on the News in an email, and they are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He said to contact the FTC or the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection (consumer.georgia.gov) if you believe there has been a violation. You also can register a complaint by calling 1-888-382-1222 or at www.donotcall.gov. To be a violation, three conditions must apply, according to the Office of Consumer Protection: 1. The call was made to a residential or cellular phone number at least 31 days after the date the phone number was registered with the Do Not Call registry. 2. The purpose of the call was to solicit you to buy, rent or invest in property, goods or services. (Calls from charitable, religious or other organizations that solicit contributions, memberships and opinions generally do not violate the Do Not Call laws.) 3. The telemarketer's company and you do not have a prior or current business or personal relationship. Federal regulations limit the scope of a prior business relationship to 18 months after a purchase or acquisition and three months after an inquiry or application. Calls made during these periods are not violations.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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