Consumer Protection: Changes To The Wisconsin No-Call List

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• Wisconsin’s No-Call List Becomes Permanent On Friday

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  As of Friday, the state of Wisconsin Do Not Call Registry will become permanent — a change that a state official says should be a welcome one for the many phone customers who have signed onto the service that prevents telemarketers from giving them calls.

  “One of the most frustrating things for consumers about the previous law was that it required you to sign up on the list at least once every two years, or your number would drop off,” said Sandy Chalmers, the administrator of the state Division of Trade and Consumer Protection.

  Chalmers said that understandably, people would lose track of when they registered, and their number would come off of the list. In researching complaints made to the Bureau of Consumer Protection, she said, “We would see that they were no longer on the list so there was nothing we could do for them.”

  The state Legislature must have heard the same complaints, said Chalmers. In April, they passed the law to make the registry permanent, so long as the consumer has the same phone number.

  “We tried to make this as seamless as possible for consumers,” Chalmers said.

  The Federal Trade Commission is going to maintain the new permanent list on behalf of Wisconsin, and any numbers that are currently on the Wisconsin not-call list will be automatically transferred to the permanent one.

  The new permanent registry, like the previous version, covers text messages in addition to land lines and cell phones. But unlike with the previous version, when someone now registers a new number, it will appear on the list the following day. Previously, numbers would be added en masse the following quarter.

  Once the number appears on the registry, businesses do have a month from that date to stop their calls.

  There are a couple of ways to verify that a number is current on the Do Not Call Registry. One way is to visit www.DoNotCall.gov and check. Another option is to call 1-888-382-1222 from the number that is being verified.