Customer Care » Frequently Asked Questions » About TeleBlock®

Q: Where can I find more information about the Federal registry and the legislation surrounding federal telemarketing laws and regulations?
A: www.ftc.gov
Q: What is the government (State and Federal) doing to curb telemarketing?
A: Successfully passing DNC legislation to protect consumers against unwanted telephone solicitation.
Q: How many consumer complaints have been logged against telemarketers so far?
A: Over 63,000 complaints as of November 6, 2003.
Q: How many consumers have place their number on the Federal DNC registry?
A: Over 54.3 million consumers have placed their number on the Federal registry as of November 6, 2003.
Q. What are monentary consequences of violating DNC Law?
A: State issued fines vary widely. However, depending of on the state, penalties can reach $25,000.00 per infraction. On the federal level, do-not-call and do-not-fax penalties are equally as severe. The result will be a $11,000.00 fine per violation. Consumers also have the authority to bring a civil action against the violating party.
Q: How is the federal government going to enforce the Federal DNC registry?
A: For enforcement purposes, consumer complaints received into the FTC databases are made available to more than 800 law enforcement agencies, including the offices of all State Attorneys General.
Q: If we outsource all of our telemarketing needs, are we still liable for DNC fines and penalties?
A: Yes. The ultimate seller of goods and services is responsible and will be held accountable for all possible fines and penalties. In addition, the firm responsible for making the solicitation calls will also be subject to fines and penalties.
Q: Do I need Excel Teleblock Service if I already purchase the federal or state DNC registries?
A: Purchasing the federal or state DNC registries does not fulfill state or federal call compliance requirements. Call compliance is doing everything a reasonable person would do in order to abide by DNC laws and to avoid contacting consumers on those lists. Subscribing to Excel Teleblock Service is being call compliant.
Q: Do I still have to purchase the federal and state lists if I subscribe to Excel Teleblock Service?
A: Yes. It is a federal requirement for telemarketers to pay and to register with the federal government. It varies by each state, however, some states still may require telemarketers to purchase their specific DNC list as a requirement for solicitation. It is the responsibility of the subscriber (telemarketer) to observe all applicable state and federal telemarketing guidelines and requirements (i.e. bonding, DNC list purchase, written DNC policy, Caller ID, predictive dialer abandonment rates, disclosures, etc.).
Q: Does Excel Teleblock Service enable me to bypass the federal or state telemarketer registration process?
A: No. The federal government and several states require that all telemarketers/solicitors register and pay whether they utilize a call-blocking service or not. Registering with the federal and state governments is a basic telemarketer requirement and responsibility.
Q: Have all states abandoned their own lists in favor of the federal DNC registry?
A: No. Several states have retained their DNC lists as well as adopting the federal list as an extra layer of DNC protection for consumers. This may also mean double the fine/penalty per violation.
Q: Does Excel Teleblock Service guarantee 100% call-blocking effectiveness?
A: No. DNC legislation is constantly changing and there is no possible way for anyone to actually guarantee 100% effectiveness. Toll Free Teleblock a tool for compliance. However, all current Excel Teleblock customers have a proven track record of call compliance. In addition, by subscribing to Excel Toll Free Teleblock, a company is demonstrating a good faith effort to be call compliant with federal, state and other DNC legislation. Excel Toll Free Teleblock will not guarantee 100% call blocking effectiveness, but it will provide 100% "good faith" call compliance and will significantly reduce the chance of reaching a number on one of the many DNC registries. Excel customers have no violations to date (11/2003).
Q: Where is Excel Teleblock Service available?
A: It is available for origination within the continental United States.
Q: What kind of rates are we talking about for Excel Teleblock Service?
A: It will depend on the monthly revenue commitment.
Q: How is Excel Teleblock Service different from list scrubbing services?
A: List scrubbing services only clean or scrub DNC lists. Excel Teleblock Service purges all DNC lists of DNC numbers and blocks (in real-time) calls to those numbers. This process is done in milliseconds and is unnoticable to the calling party. List scrubbing services fail to meet federal and state compliance standards. They do not providing a "blocking" function.

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