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Telemarketers Must Send Caller ID Info

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January 29, 2004
Telemarketers won't be able to hide behind an "out of area" designation on Caller ID any longer. Effective today, telemarketers must transmit their telephone number and, if possible, their name, to consumers' Caller ID screens.

The Federal Trade Commission has amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to include the new requirements, which should help consumers choose which sales calls they want to take.

While it is technologically possible to transmit callers’ numbers nearly everywhere, transmitting callers’ names may not be available everywhere yet.

To comply with this requirement, a telemarketer may:

• transmit its own number and, where available, its own name, to consumers’ Caller ID services, or
• substitute the name of the seller (or charitable organization) on whose behalf it is calling, and the seller’s (or charitable organization’s) customer (or donor) service telephone number.

The FTC acknowledges that some situations may arise when a consumer who subscribes to a Caller ID service does not receive a telemarketer’s transmission of Caller ID information, even though the telemarketer has arranged to transmit the information in every call. For example, that can happen if the Caller ID information is dropped somewhere between the telemarketer’s call center and the consumer’s telephone.

The FTC says that telemarketers who can show that they took all available steps to ensure the transmission of Caller ID information in every call will not be held liable for isolated instances when the Caller ID information fails to make it to the consumer’s receiver. A telemarketer’s use of calling equipment that can’t transmit Caller ID information, however, is no excuse for failure to transmit the required information.

According to the FTC, information transmitted through Caller ID can facilitate the filing of complaints if consumers suspect a caller is violating the National Do Not Call Registry.

A consumer whose number has been on the Registry for at least three months must know the date of the call, and either the name or the telephone number of the company that called. Consumers who have signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry can file a do not call complaint at www.donotcall.gov or by phone at 1-888-382-1222.

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