No-call list targets U.S. telemarketers ■ i he new plan would allow people to keep telemarketers from calling their homes By Marty Toohey Oregon Daily Emerald The Federal Trade Commission could soon begin offering people the option of blocking telemar keters under a system similar to Oregon’s. Oregon is one of 25 states with no-call legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and under the legis lation residents can call the De partment of Justice and place their home numbers on a list off limits to telemarketers. “Oregon has one of the best no call policies in the country,” DOJ spokeswoman Jan Margosian said. “We will participate in FTC’s creation of the list and tell them what worked for us.” Representatives from the Ore gon Department of Justice will aid in creating the regulations, which could be ready as early as this summer, Margosian said. Under the proposed registry, FTC could fine telemarketing companies $11,000 for calling people on the list. It consumers don t want to be called, they should have a way to avoid those calls,” said Howard Beales, FTC’s director of con sumer protection. Some in the telemarketing in dustry have raised concerns about the FTC’s no-call proposal. Jim Conway, a spokesman for the Di rect Marketing Association, said adding a national no-call list to state lists would create more has sle, paperwork and confusion. He said the industry generates $660 billion annually, and that a nation al no-call list would cost the in dustry billions. He said most na tional and regional telemarketing businesses have membership with DMA, and the association main tains its own no-call list. He admitted, however, that be cause not all telemarketers have joined DMA, not all are subject to the association’s no-call list. All companies conducting busi ness in Oregon are subject to the state’s no-call law, which Oregon’s DOJ created in 1999. The attorney general’s office distributes the no call list to companies conducting business in Oregon, and if a tele marketer contacts a person on the list, DOJ can fine the company up to $25,000. “The law is working wonderful ly,” Margosian said. “It’s protecting people from being called at incon venient times by people they don’t want to deal with.” No-call list registration for one year costs $6.50. Renewals cost Ways to deal with telemarketers: 1. Subscribe to Oregon’s no-cat! list. The state maintains a list of people who have requested telemarketer blocks, and the state can fine telemarketers calling people on the list up to $25,000. 2. Immediately tell telemarketers, “Do not call me again, and put my name on your ‘do not call’ list" State law requires that the telemarketing company never calls you again. 3. Telemarketers must identify within 30 seconds their company, their product and its cost, and ask if the person is interested. Report any who wait more than 30 seconds to the state attorney general’s office. 4. Ask anyone who violates the rules above whether the company has ; registered with the attorney general's office, if the company has not, report them. To subscribe to the state's no •calf list, call 1- 077-700-6622 or log on to www.ornocall.com. To file a complaint against a telemarketer, calf 1-877-877*9392, or log ORto wwiy dokstate.or.us. Source. Oregon Department of Justice $3, and the state updates the list each month. The no-call law includes exemp tions for charities, opinion surveys unrelated to marketing, businesses from which a person has previous ly made purchases and telemar keters who a resident has request ed call the residence. People not on the list can also stop telemarketers from making follow-up calls. If a person tells a telemarketer to not call again, the company cannot legally make an other call to the residence. “People who aren’t interested should immediately say, ‘Do not call me again, and put my name on your do not call list,’” Mar gosian said. “If they’re told not to call back, the business should never call again.” Oregon and federal laws re quire telemarketers to identify their company, their product and its cost, as well as ask if the per son contacted is interested with in the first 30 seconds of the call. A person must request the com pany not call the number again in those 30 seconds. Oregon maintains its no-call list in conjunction with OTA Services of Salem, a company that handles list-serve operations. Residents can add their name to the no-call list by calling toll-free 1-877-700-6622 or visiting www.omocall.com. E-mail reporter Marty Toohey at martytoohey@dailyemerald.com. 1225 ALDER 345-2434 Not valid with any other discounts or coupons. _ MON-FRI10AM-10PM • SAT 11AM-9PM • SUN 12PM-9PM ^5 f\SVJ Tslcirrt* The Oregon Daily Emerald is always looking for young writers who want to learn and grow at a real newspaper. For information on how to freelance for the Emerald, call 346-5511. frfcElO MOCHA MADNESS .10? off any mocha! Mon, Tues, Wed only r Valid until 2-7-02 Serrino’s Coffee Company • 1591 Willamette • (541) 485-4181 <§> Virtual Office Systems Inc. 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Specs.subject to change, www.voscomputers.com Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Campus Responses to Aftermath of September 11 Events Department of Philosophy presents Philosophy Looks at the War Wednesday, January 30 4:00-5:30 100 Willamette Hall In an effort to facilitate education and informed discussion-—from a variety of perspectives—on the events of September 11"' and their aftermath, the University of Oregon Senate Ad-Hoc Committee charged with coordinating the university's response is sponsoring a series of panel presentations and discussions during Winter term 2002. Symposia will meet weekly, on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:30 P.M., in 100 Willamette Hall. Each week will feature presentations and discussions that draw on the particular perspectives, specializations and expertise of University of Oregon schools, departments and programs, as well as individual faculty engaged in teaching and research on topics that inform our understanding of the September 11* crisis and subsequent developments. The University Senate Ad-Hoc Committee does not take positions on issues of policy, politics, or ideology. To ensure its neutrality, the Committee will provide clear identification of the specific sponsorship of campus activities by the groups that carry them out. In all cases, the content of remarks and materials relating to these issues are the responsibility of their sponsors, and do not reflect an official position of the Ad-Hoc Committee or the University of Oregon. All meetings are free of charge and open to the public. To contact the Senate Ad Hoc Committee, e-mail septl 1 @darkwing.uoregon.edu or connect to the Committee’s web page: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/-septll/ FIND THINGS IN ODE CLASSIFIEDS (ROOMMATES, TICKETS, STUFF YOU LOST, BICYCLES, CARS, JOBS, ON-CAMPUS OPPORTUNITIES)