DO-NOT-CALL LIST Telemarketers set sights on the unregistered

People can expect a surge of calls leading up to the do-not-call deadline.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Telemarketers are an optimistic sort. They're quite certain they can call you up, drag you away from whatever you were doing and sell you something you didn't know you wanted.
So maybe it's not surprising that many say they're not worried about a new law that will fine them as much as $11,000 each time they call someone listed on a federal do-not-call registry.
Some telemarketers almost give the impression that the National Do Not Call Registry, which goes into effect Oct. 1 and so far has 31.6 million phone numbers, was their idea. They say it will greatly simplify their operations by drawing a bright line between those who don't want to be called and all the others -- who, the telemarketers will assume, are downright eager to talk.
"The individuals left are more of a targeted, receptive population," said Alan Elias, a spokesman for Providian Financial Corp., a San Francisco credit-card company.
Other major telemarketers say they support the registry because they believe in consumers' right to be left alone.
"This is quite in line with AT & amp;T's long-standing policy of protecting the privacy of its customers," said Tom Hopkins, a spokesman for AT & amp;T Corp., one of the largest U.S. telemarketers.
On the other hand
If the industry seems cool and unconcerned, its lobbyists are close to panic. The American Teleservices and Direct Marketing associations have filed lawsuits to stop the registry, which they say is a violation of free speech. They also say the registry will ruin the industry, in turn delivering a body blow to the wobbly national economy.
"It will be like an asteroid hitting the Earth," said ATA Executive Director Tim Searcy. "Two million people will lose their jobs."
Which group is right will begin to come clear this fall. Federal Trade Commission officials originally predicted that consumers would put 60 million phone numbers on the registry in the first year. They say registrations -- which can be done on the Web at www.donotcall.gov or by calling (888) 382-1222 -- are exceeding expectations. There are 166 million residential phones in the United States.
Telemarketers will pay to access the registry, which will be updated quarterly. Only politicians, pollsters and charities will be exempt and able to continue to make calls with impunity. Also permitted will be calls to consumers with whom the telemarketer has an existing "relationship." But even here there are limits.
"Telemarketers can't sell another product or service that is completely unrelated," said Eileen Harrington, the FTC's associate director of marketing practices. "If I'm your phone company, I can't sell you a time share."
In coming weeks, households can expect to be deluged with phone solicitations as telemarketers try to establish relationships before the registry goes into effect. The FTC already is getting reports that telemarketing call volume has soared. And after Oct. 1, those who haven't signed up for the registry can expect a flood of calls as marketers zero in on them.
Sunday was the deadline for consumers to sign up to be in the registry that takes effect Oct. 1.
Complaints about invasions of privacy aren't officially tracked by the FTC, but the agency says they have mushroomed in recent years -- a consequence of the number of calls being placed as well as of the technology that makes them possible.
Many telemarketers use a device known as a predictive dialer, which queues up numbers. If a salesman or saleswoman isn't ready, or if too many people answer their phones at the same time, a call is "abandoned." For many people, the only thing as annoying as answering the phone and finding a marketer on the other end is answering the phone and finding dead air, courtesy of a marketer too busy to talk.