| Marketers quit telephone opt-out service |
| By Laura Bruce
• Bankrate.com |
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The Direct Marketing Association is hanging up on its Telephone Preference Service, thanks to the success of the federal government's National Do Not Call Registry.
The telephone service has been a way for consumers
to reduce unwanted telemarketing calls by registering with the Direct
Marketing Association, or DMA, a trade association for direct marketers.
But the program became dwarfed by the federal government's registry,
which started in 2003 and now has more than 127 million phone numbers
in its database, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
"With the widespread use of the National Do Not Call
Registry, our efforts have become confusing and duplicative for
consumers and are creating an additional and unnecessary expense
for our members," says Patricia Kachura, senior vice president for
ethics and consumer affairs for the DMA.
The DMA, which started its service in 1985, says it will no longer
accept new consumer registrations as of Nov. 1, 2006. Phone numbers
that are registered by that date will remain in the database for
five years and members of the DMA will be required to refrain from
calling those numbers.
The registry will remain in service and accept new
registrations for residents of Maine, Pennsylvania and Wyoming where,
by law, it is the official state registry.
A DMA statement says the association's decision to
cancel the Telephone Preference Service will not impact other consumer
services it offers, "such as the Deceased
Do Not Contact List, the Mail Preference Service or the E-mail
Preference Service."
The Mail Preference Service allows consumers to opt
out of at least some mailed solicitations, such as preapproved credit
card offers. To sign up, write to Mail Preference Service, Direct
Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512. Include your
name, address and signature. It's free.
You also can go to the DMA Web site to opt out of mail solicitations, but that will cost $5.
You can also opt out of at least some of your e-mail spam by going
to the DMA Web
site and registering there.
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