Massive wave to block calls hits a wall

Computers can't keep up with the fed-up consumers who want telemarketers to leave them alone and stop those annoying sales calls.

Dave Carley is so sick of telemarketers that he tried three times Friday to sign up for the new national do-not-call list.

More frustration.

So many people want to get on the list to block telemarketing calls that government Web servers crumbled under the strain, and Carley never got through.

"Everybody in the U.S. wants to sign up and get rid of the burden," Carley, 75, of Belleair said. "I'm very frustrated, but I'm not surprised."

Nearly three-quarters of a million Americans did manage to sign up and send a message to telemarketers to leave them alone.

The Federal Trade Commission, which had been working for more than a year to roll out the free "do not call" program, said that by 5 p.m. more than 735,000 people had signed up.

The signup process on the FTC Web site, www.donotcall.gov began just after midnight, and by noon, online operations had been slowed to a crawl by the crush of would-be registrants.

People living west of the Mississippi River also were able to register by using a toll-free telephone number, 1-888-382-1222. The eastern part of the country, which includes Florida, will be able to sign up by phone starting July 7. Consumers calling the toll-free number must call from the telephone number they want registered.

Those who sign up on the Web site must provide the phone number they want protected and an e-mail address to get confirmation.

President Bush praised the program at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.

"Unwanted telemarketing calls are intrusive, they are annoying, and they're all too common," he said. "When Americans are sitting down to dinner or a parent is reading to his or her child, the last thing they need is a call from a stranger with a sales pitch."

"They're a real pain in the neck," said Helen McKenna, 75, a retired writer from San Diego who has no sympathy at all for telemarketers. "Why feel any sympathy for them, taking part in something that annoys people? That's the last job in the world that I'd take. I'd rather clean toilets than to do that to people."

Like Carley, McKenna couldn't access the government's Web site, which at noon was being visited 1,000 times every second. The FTC scrambled to add more computer equipment to handle the load and a second Web site, donotcall.gov no www) was started.

"We expected a huge response and we've gotten it," FTC spokeswoman Cathy MacFarlane said. "Consumers need to remember there's no urgency in registering. The registry has just opened and will continue to stay open."

The agency estimates Americans will register up to 60-million phone numbers in the first year. Starting in October, telemarketers who call phone numbers on the registry could be fined up to $11,000 per call.

The FTC predicts the registry will block about 80 percent of the 104-million telemarketing calls made each day.

The industry, which opposes restraints on its ability to sell goods and services, has sued the FTC, saying the registry amounts to an unlawful restriction of free speech.

Of the states with do-not-call lists, 13 - including Florida - plan to add their lists of 8.1-million numbers to the national registry this summer, three have legislation pending to allow them to share, and 11 will not share the information, the FTC said. Consumers on state lists added to the national one need not register again.

Beginning in September, telemarketers will have to check the list every three months to see who doesn't want to be called. Consumers would file complaints to an automated phone or online system.

Exemptions from the list include calls from charities, pollsters and on behalf of politicians. Registered consumers also can give written permission to get calls from certain companies.

A company also may call someone on the no-call list if that person has bought, leased or rented from the company within the past 18 months. Telemarketers also may call people if they have inquired about or applied for something from the company during the past three months.

Consumers can avoid those calls by asking to be put on an individual company's do-not-call list.

- Times staff writer Matt Waite contributed to this report, which also includes information from Cox News Service and the Associated Press.

The do-not-call Web site was being visited 1,000 times every second as of noon Friday, the Federal Trade Commission said.

The overwhelming traffic had the site responding at a crawl. The FTC scrambled to add more computer equipment to handle the load.

About 635,000 telephone numbers were registered in the program's first 14 hours.

Internet users can register at www.donotcall.gov or donotcall.gov, without the www 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. Consumers calling the toll-free number must call from the telephone number they want registered.

Telemarketers don't have to start checking the list until September, so you don't have to register immediately. Wait a while and avoid the hassle of slow Web sites and busy phone numbers.

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