Compliance with Do Not Call Registry Exceptional

The Federal Trade Commission today released Do Not Call registration and complaint figures for 2003, indicating fewer than 45 companies have received more than 100 consumer complaints. Consumers registered over 55 million numbers through 2003, but have reported only 150,000 possible violations.

“The telemarketing industry has shown exceptional compliance with the National Do Not Call Registry,” stated Timothy J. Muris, FTC Chairman. “The Do Not Call program has been highly successful in protecting consumers’ privacy. While we appreciate the high rate of compliance,” Muris added, “we are taking a hard look at the top violators. Assuring compliance with the Registry remains a high priority for the Commission.”

In 2003, consumers submitted 150,409 complaints to the National Do Not Call Registry. Some of these complaints did not include the name of a company, and others involved multiple complaints involving the same company name. In sorting the data, there were just over 55,000 specific company names against which complaints were lodged. Fewer than 45 of those companies had more than 100 complaints filed against them.

The effectiveness of the Do Not Call Registry was reinforced by a Harris Interactive® survey released today indicating that more than half of all U.S. adults (57%) say that they have signed up for the registry. Ninety-two percent (92%) of those who signed up report receiving fewer telemarketing calls, and twenty-five percent (25%) of those registered say they have received no telemarketing calls since signing up.

Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll®, Harris Interactive stated, “In my experience these results are remarkable. It is rare to find so many people benefit so quickly from a relatively inexpensive government program.”