No-Call List Gets Boost From Colorado PUC
Regulators Agree To Launch List And Use 240,000 Names Already Collected
POSTED: 6:45 a.m. MST October 30, 2001
UPDATED: 2:28 p.m. MST November 26, 2001
DENVER -- State regulators have agreed to launch a no-call
list for telemarketers with the names of 240,000 residents gathered
independently by a bipartisan think tank.
The Public Utilities Commission also expanded complaint
requirements to include a toll-free phone number after lobbyists
for the elderly complained Internet Web site enrollment in the
program is impossible for many people.
The law will allow residential telephone customers to sign up on
the list that notifies solicitors they do not want any more calls
by phone or fax. Solicitors who make three or more calls a month to
a number on the list could face fines up to $2,000 per violation.
Under the law, telemarketers will have to buy the list for up to
$500. Telemarketers with five employees or less would get it for
free, and charities are exempt from the law.
The written rules based on Monday's decisions are expected Nov.
2 and the list will go into effect July 1.
The Bighorn Center for Public Policy began allowing people to
register for a no-call list on its Web site before it was approved
by lawmakers. Its staff has collected 240,000 signatures.
Commissioner Polly Page said legislators did not make it clear
whether the commission should use the Bighorn list or start anew.
She said she preferred doing it "without incurring the wrath of a
quarter-million people."
The commission ordered an agency hired to do the registration to
verify those on the list still want to exclude telemarketers.
The commission tentatively has chosen e-infodata.com of Boulder
to handle the registration. The three-year contract, which still
must be approved, is for $126,500.
The commission also decided it has no power to extend the rules
to cover cell phones, because the law is limited to residential
customers.
The registration agency will collect complaints and turn them
over to the state attorney general for prosecution.
The Colorado no-call law allows state residents to sign up for free for a list that all telemarketers are required to buy. If consumers on the list are still called, they can complain to the administrator of the list, and multiple complaints could result in fines through the attorney general's office. Nonprofit and political groups are still allowed to make calls to all residents, as can companies that can claim a business relationship.
Additional Resources:
The Public Utilities Commission also expanded complaint
requirements to include a toll-free phone number after lobbyists
for the elderly complained Internet Web site enrollment in the
program is impossible for many people.
The law will allow residential telephone customers to sign up on
the list that notifies solicitors they do not want any more calls
by phone or fax. Solicitors who make three or more calls a month to
a number on the list could face fines up to $2,000 per violation.
Under the law, telemarketers will have to buy the list for up to
$500. Telemarketers with five employees or less would get it for
free, and charities are exempt from the law.
The written rules based on Monday's decisions are expected Nov.
2 and the list will go into effect July 1.
The Bighorn Center for Public Policy began allowing people to
register for a no-call list on its Web site before it was approved
by lawmakers. Its staff has collected 240,000 signatures.
Commissioner Polly Page said legislators did not make it clear
whether the commission should use the Bighorn list or start anew.
She said she preferred doing it "without incurring the wrath of a
quarter-million people."
The commission ordered an agency hired to do the registration to
verify those on the list still want to exclude telemarketers.
The commission tentatively has chosen e-infodata.com of Boulder
to handle the registration. The three-year contract, which still
must be approved, is for $126,500.
The commission also decided it has no power to extend the rules
to cover cell phones, because the law is limited to residential
customers.
The registration agency will collect complaints and turn them
over to the state attorney general for prosecution.
The Colorado no-call law allows state residents to sign up for free for a list that all telemarketers are required to buy. If consumers on the list are still called, they can complain to the administrator of the list, and multiple complaints could result in fines through the attorney general's office. Nonprofit and political groups are still allowed to make calls to all residents, as can companies that can claim a business relationship.
Additional Resources:- No Call List
- http://e-infodata.com
- Colorado No-Call Law
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
