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About the National Do Not Call Registry |
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About the National Do Not Call Registry |
Federal "Do Not Call" Law - REALTORS® Are NOT EXEMPTED
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NOTE: Effective May 7, 2009, the
do-not-call compliance program offered by the Florida Association of Realtors,
DNCQuickcheck, will not be an included member benefit. PossibleNOW, the company
that provides DNCQuickcheck, has offered to continue coverage for affected
members for $100 per month, and individual agent IDs are available at $10 per
month. For uninterrupted coverage, contact Sandy Sponsler at
770.255.1040 before May 6, 2009. More information:
http://www.dncquickcheck.com
The federal "Do Not Call" Registry, enacted as a
result of the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, was implemented through
regulatory actions of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In a nutshell, the feds created a national "do not call" list, and millions
of residential phone number have been registered since the registry was
opened to the public. The law provides for stiff penalties - a fine of
up to $11,000 could be levied if you call someone who has registered on the
list.
There are a few things brokers and agents can do to reduce their liability.
According to the FTC, a broker can create a "safe harbor" from inadvertent do
not call violations by doing the following five things:
1) Adopt written procedures that comply with the do not call requirements
2) Train its personnel in those procedures
3) Monitor and enforced compliance with the procedures
4) Maintain a company-specific list of do not call telephone numbers
5) Refresh its do not call list at least quarterly
Whether or not brokers will be held liable for their agents' telemarketing
practices is not clear yet. So the best practice for brokers is to adopt the
procedures to create the "safe harbor" and follow them to the letter.
So what can you do? Here are some tips to avoid getting into Do-Not-Call
trouble:
1. Calling a former client with whom you've had an established business
relationship is OK for up to 18 months after the close of the transaction. After
that, you have to check the list.
2. Calling a potential client who called you first is OK for up to three months
after the consumer-initiated call occurred. Ditto on checking the list after
that.
3. Calling anyone who has granted you written permission to call is OK.
4. Cold-calling in person is still OK, including FSBO's or expired-listing
sellers.
5. Update your do not call lists (both the federal list and your company list)
at least quarterly.
6. Following the safe harbor procedures outlined above.
How to Get the List
The Do Not Call List is available on the FTC website at
https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/
where you have to register on-line. There is no cost for registration. Once
registered, you can download up to five area codes for no charge. If you want
more, additional area codes are $25 each. You can only download data once a day.
On that same site, you can also check up to 10 telephone numbers.
Finally, you will need to update your list by getting changes. Go to this site
for instructions:
https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/FAQ/FAQBusiness.aspx
The Florida Association of REALTORS® also offers, DNC Quickcheck, an online tool
that enables you to check if numbers on your call list have been registered with
the federal and state do-not-call lists -- in seconds! The service also provides
recordkeeping tools, compliance training and an audit trail to help companies
meet federal safe harbor requirements that protect against penalties if an
associate inadvertently calls a number on the do-not-call list.
Confused? The Daytona Beach Area Association of REALTORS® will continue to help you, our members, understand this law. So feel free to call the board at 386.677.7131.
