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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2007
Contact: Tracy Polovick
Coordinator of Communications and Outreach
(717) 787-8524
Back

Time to Re-Register for Do No Call List, Vance Says

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania residents who signed up for the Do Not Call List when it initially began in 2002 need to re-register by Sept. 15 to keep unwanted telemarketing calls at bay, said Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland/York).

In 2002 the General Assembly created a law that allowed telephone subscribers to register their telephone number on a list that prohibits telemarketers from contacting them and subjects telemarketers to fines if they fail to comply. The registration is valid for five years.

"This Do Not Call List has been wildly popular," Vance said. "One million Pennsylvanians registered for it in the first two weeks it was operational in 2002, and millions more have registered in the past five years. I encourage those who registered initially back in 2002 to re-apply."

Residents can register their names, addresses and phone numbers – either landline or cell phone numbers – with the state list by calling 1-888-777-3406 or by visiting www.nocallsplease.com. Both the toll-free hotline and Web site are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Updated do-not-call lists are provided to telemarketers on a quarterly basis, and then telemarketing firms are required to remove those phone numbers from their lists within 30 days. Telemarketers who fail to abide by the list are subject to fines of up to $1,000, or $3,000 if the recipient of the illegal call is age 60 or older. Repeat offenders could potentially forfeit their right to operate in Pennsylvania. Telemarketing firms also are prohibited from using blocking devices, which prevent their own phone numbers from being displayed on a Caller-ID box.

The law excludes those calls from telemarketers who have an existing business relationship with customers or who are calling on behalf of tax-exempt charitable organizations, political parties and other groups not peddling goods or services.

Vance's district includes all of Cumberland County and Carroll, Fairview, Franklin, Monaghan, Warrington and Washington townships and Dillsburg, Franklintown and Wellsville boroughs in York County.