Call-culations

We tell businesses it’s wise to disclose prices clearly. So it’s only right that we follow our own advice.

Before calling consumers, telemarketers must “scrub” their lists against the National Do Not Call Registry to make sure they don’t call people who have registered their numbers. The first five area codes are free, but after that, businesses pay a fee. Certain groups are exempt from the fee – for example, some charitable organizations. We think that set-up makes sense. The cost to maintain the Registry should be borne primarily by the companies that use it, not by consumers – taxpayers – who choose to exercise their legal right to say no to those calls.

Under the Do-Not-Call Registry Extension Act of 2007, Congress mandated the formula for determining whether to increase the fees for accessing the Registry. We’ve crunched the numbers and based on the required calculation, the fees will increase slightly on October 1, 2019. Telemarketers will pay $65 for yearly access to Registry phone numbers in a single area code, a $2 increase. The maximum charge for any single business or group accessing all area codes nationwide will be $17,765, up from $17,406. The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will remain $32.

The FTC has resources for businesses to help them comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including the Do Not Call Registry.