Now the telephone won't ring during dinner

Maybe. Signing up for the free National Do Not Call Registry, introduced today, won't stop all unwanted calls, but it should help.

Tired of coming home to find your voice mail jammed with telemarketer hangups?

Sick of racing naked from the shower for the phone, only to hear an air-conditioner salesman mangle your name?

If you're on the receiving end of some of the estimated 104-million sales calls made to U.S. homes every day, a free service introduced today by the federal government may offer some relief beginning Oct. 1.

Americans who submit their phone number to the new National Do Not Call Registry will not be shielded from every single unwanted call. Charities and political groups will still call for contributions. Companies may call existing customers, as well as those from as far back as 18 months.

Nor will the new list torpedo the barge full of "spam" polluting the average American's e-mail account.

But most telephone sales calls from almost every conceivable industry - including airlines, credit card issuers, insurers and even phone companies - must refrain from calling, or else risk a fine of up to $11,000 per illegal call.

Internet users can sign up starting today at www.donotcall.gov Floridians who prefer to submit their number by phone can call toll-free at 1-888-382-1222, but must wait until July 7. The Federal Trade Commission expects roughly 60-million Americans to sign up during the first year.

Unlike Florida's do-not-call program, which costs $10 to join and must be renewed each year for $5, the national registry is free to consumers, and consumer phone numbers are kept on file for five years. Telemarketing companies, abundant in the Tampa Bay area, must check for new entries every three months.

"We have to face the facts," said Bill Hood, chief executive of Special Data Processing, which employs 1,800 people at its Clearwater call center. "When telemarketing first started, you got a call or two a week, maybe a call or two a month. Now it's grown to 10 or 15 a week and you're no longer interested. You're inconvenienced. It's a shame."

Still, Hood said his company is putting several telemarketing projects on hold. And many others in corporate America fought hard to kill or scale back the do-not-call proposal. In written comments last year, the Direct Marketing Association said the "well-intentioned" but "unwieldy" proposal threatened an industry that employs 4.1-million people and generated sales of $274-billion in 2001.

"We got a load of comments," Federal Communications spokeswoman Rosemary Kimball said. "There was a lot of angst."

Many other companies, including American Express and Bank of America, argued unsuccessfully that any national do-not-call system should replace the patchwork of similar programs in Florida and 25 other states.

In fact, Florida officials acknowledged Thursday that the new federal registry may put the state's own list out of business. Created in 1987 and the first of its kind, the state's no-solicitation list has 169,569 paid subscribers. It provides no protection the free federal list won't, however, except what state regulatory consultant Beth Evans called Florida's "more aggressive" enforcement procedures. While Florida investigates every consumer complaint, Evans said, the Federal Trade Commission, which will administer the national list, is making no such promise.

Florida officials have nevertheless agreed to share their entire list of no-call numbers with the FTC.

Authorized by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 to create a national no-call list, federal officials waited more than a decade to act. In the meantime, rules restricting unsolicited sales offers by fax and prerecorded sales messages by telephone were put into place.

As the number of unwanted calls exploded, however, consumers began urging reforms that would reinforce the sanctity - and quiet - of home life. In a speech last week in Miami, Federal Communications Commission official K. Dane Snowden shared an anecdote from his own perhaps apocryphal experience. In one hour recently, the consumer and governmental affairs chief said he received calls hawking a new mortgage, long-distance service, steaks, maid service, lawn mowing and a trip to an amusement park.

"I realized that in order to finance this power-hour of shopping via the telephone I would need another credit card," Snowden said. "My phone rang once again, and yes, it was a credit card company."

Indeed, the cry for telemarketing reform has been so loud that officials in Washington, D.C., are now battling to take credit for it.

Thursday afternoon, the FTC unveiled the new Web site and phone number in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.

Not to be outdone, FCC commissioners voted 5-0 Thursday morning to throw their own weight on the issue. Without the vote, they said, the FTC would have had to exempt intrastate sales calls and telemarketing by banks, insurers and phone companies, which it does not regulate.

Congress jumped on the bandwagon in March when it passed a revised do-not-call act. The law authorized the FTC to collect fees from telemarketers in order to finance the do-not-call registry.

Even with the new list, consumers still must guard their wallets from disreputable callers. The FTC warned that rogue telemarketers are already offering to put consumers on the national do-not-call list - for a fee.

- Times staff writer Jeff Harrington contributed to this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.

Doing so will limit the number of telemarketing calls you receive. The service is free, and your phone number will remain in the registry for five years.

No. People seeking political or charitable contributions will still be allowed to call you, as will those calling to conduct a survey or companies you have done business with during the previous 18 months.

Starting today, Internet users can register at www.donotcall.gov You must have an e-mail address for this to work.

Starting July 7, Florida residents also will be able to register by calling toll-free at 1-888-382-1222. TTY callers should dial 1-866-290-4236.

Telemarketers are supposed to check the registry for new numbers every three months, so there will be some lag time. But those who register by Aug. 31 should start receiving fewer calls on Oct. 1.

Yes, up to three at a time, including cell phone numbers. You cannot register business numbers, however.

No. Your phone number will automatically be placed on the national list.

That's up to you. The cost of renewal is only $5 per year, and Florida officials say they follow up on every alleged violation you report. But otherwise the Florida list offers no advantage over the national list.

Registration is free, and charging a fee for it is illegal. If you can find out the caller's name and phone number, file a complaint with state and federal officials. Don't give out any personal information, either. Some con artists are using the do-not-call list to get Social Security numbers and other valuable data from unsuspecting consumers.

If, after three months have passed, you continue to get improper calls, file a complaint at www.donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222. You must provide either the name or phone number of the caller and the date called.

No. But your complaint will be entered into a database. If enough complaints are made about the same company, law enforcement agencies may decide to investigate.

Yes, though that is not new. If successful, you might be awarded up to $500 per call.

Starting Oct. 1, telemarketers must begin talking within two seconds after you answer the phone. The rule is intended to reduce the long pauses you often hear when automatic dialing equipment is being used.

Beginning Jan. 29, telemarketers must make their phone number available to your Caller I.D. service.

Doing so will make it easier for you to catch violators.

- Source: Federal Trade Commission

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