From the official FTC Do Not Call web-site:

"On October 1, 2003, the FTC and the States will start to enforce the National Do Not Call Registry provisions of the Amended Telemarketing Sales Rule."

"Violators are subject to a fine of up to $11,000 Per Violation."

"All covered sellers and telemarketers must access the National Do Not Call Registry if they plan to make covered calls after October 1, 2003."

ARE YOU PROTECTED? Could you be making an $11,000 mistake of geometric proportions? How many customers are in your client base? How many are you planning on contacting and, more importantly, are you ALLOWED to contact them?

ProResponse has you and your valuable data covered!

For a monthly fee of $59, ProResponse will automatically scan your client's phone numbers against the Federal Do Not Call registry. Any matches made will be flagged as "DO NOT CALL". All records scanned, regardless of matching, are logged with date and time to show compliance with the FTC.

Your clients that have been flagged in the "Do Not Call" registry will be legibly marked on your reports so that you don't make THE $11,000 MISTAKE.

Some facts regarding the Federal Do Not Call legislation, taken directly from the source:

Q: Who is covered by the National Do Not Call Registry?

A: The National Do Not Call Registry applies to any plan, program or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. This includes telemarketers who solicit consumers, often on behalf of third party sellers. It also includes sellers who provide, offer to provide, or arrange to provide goods or services to consumers in exchange for payment.

Q: What about an established business relationship?

A: A telemarketer or seller may call a consumer with whom it has an established business relationship for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase, delivery, or payment - even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, a company may call a consumer for up to three months after the consumer makes an inquiry or submits an application to the company. And if a consumer has given a company written permission, the company may call even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Q: If a call includes a telephone survey and a sales pitch, is it covered?

A: Yes. Callers purporting to take a survey, but also offering to sell goods or services, must comply with the do not call provisions. But if the call is for the sole purpose of conducting a survey, it is exempt.

Q: How does the established business relationship provision work for a consumer whose number is on the registry?

A: For a consumer whose number is on the registry: A company with which a consumer has an established business relationship may call for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase or last delivery, or last payment, unless the consumer asks the company not to call again. In that case, the company must honor the request not to call. If the company calls again, it may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.

If a consumer makes an inquiry or submits an application to a company, the company can call for three months. Once again, if the consumer makes a specific request to that company not to call, the company may not call, even if it has an established business relationship with the consumer.

A consumer whose number is not on the national registry can still prohibit individual telemarketers from calling by asking to be put on the company's own do not call list.

ProResponse can track any and all customers that do not wish to be contacted!

Q: What's my liability if my company inadvertently calls a number on the registry?

A: The TSR has a "safe harbor" for inadvertent mistakes. If a seller or telemarketer can show that, as part of its routine business practice, it meets all the requirements of the safe harbor, it will not be subject to civil penalties or sanctions for mistakenly calling a consumer who has asked for no more calls, or for calling a person on the registry. To meet the safe harbor requirements, the seller or telemarketer must demonstrate that:

1. it has written procedures to comply with the do not call requirements
   ProResponse has written procedures in place to comply with the FTC.
2. it trains its personnel in those procedures
   ProResponse employees are trained in these procedures.
3. it monitors and enforces compliance with these procedures
   These procedures are monitored and enforced both electronically and with manual intervention.
4. it maintains a company-specific list of telephone numbers that it may not call.
   ProResponse has the Federal Do Not Call registry in electronic form contained securely within an archived and power-loss protected database.
5. it accesses the national registry no more than three months before calling any consumer, and maintains records documenting this process.
   All records are electronically logged when they are imported. This process is documented extensively.
6. any call made in violation of the do not call rules was the result of an error.
   Any calls made in violation of these rules would have to be made without ProResponse's help because WE HAVE YOU COVERED!

"FTC Certification Agreement"

The Authorized Representative and the person accessing telephone numbers for any organization must certify compliance with the requirements of the National Registry. No organization will be permitted access until certification is complete. Here is the full text of the Certification:

I am authorized to certify and do so certify on behalf of my Organization, as well as any Clients for which my Organization is accessing the National Do Not Call Registry:

1. that I have reviewed the Federal Trade Commission's amended Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR Part 310, and the Federal Communication Commission's Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 CFR Section 64.1200, I am familiar with their requirements as they pertain to my organization, and our access to the National Registry is permitted by law and is solely to comply with the provisions of these Rules, or to otherwise prevent telephone calls to telephone numbers on the National Registry;
2. that our statements to the Federal Trade Commission in connection with accessing the National Registry, including our identification of Organization, Representative, Clients (if any), and status as an Exempt Organization (if claimed), are true, correct, and complete;
3. that our fee(s) for access to the National Registry, if required by law, either has been or will be paid before downloading any data from the National Registry; and
4. that our use of this National Registry Web site establishes our actual knowledge that abusive telemarketing acts or practices are unfair or deceptive and prohibited by law, and that such illegal acts may include:
   • selling, renting, leasing, purchasing, or using any data in the National Registry for any purpose except compliance with the provisions of the FTC and FCC regulation of telemarketing or otherwise to prevent telephone calls to telephone numbers on the National Registry;
   • participating in any arrangement to share the cost of accessing the National Registry, including any arrangement with any telemarketer or service provider to divide the costs to access the National Registry among various clients of that telemarketer or service provider;
   • initiating an outbound telephone call to a person's telephone number on the Registry unless otherwise authorized by law.

For more information regarding the FTC's Do Not Call registry, please visit their web-site at http://www.donotcall.gov.