What is the No Call List?

The No Call List, also known as the National Do Not Call
Registry, is a provision within consumer rights that is intended to give
consumers in the United States the opportunity to limit the number of
telemarketing calls they receive.

The No Call List was implemented by the United States Federal
Trade Commission on June 27 of 2003. The law was created to facilitate
compliance issues with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. 

Although the law was implemented on June 27, 2003, enforcement
of the No Call List started on October 1, 2003. As of January 1, 2005, all
telemarketers operating in the United States have up to 31 days from the date a
telephone number was registered to cease calling that specific number. 

The No Call List is only enforced for land line numbers. FCC
regulations prohibit telemarketers from contacting cellular phone numbers using
automatic dialing systems. If an individual wishes to have a specific
telemarketer stop calling them, but does not want to be placed on the No Call List,
they may ask the specific caller to put the number on the company’s unique No Call
List. This list, although effectively limits the number of telemarketer calls
made by a specific company, does not place the underlying telephone number on
the national No Call List. 

How do I place my telephone number on the No Call List?

To register your telephone number on the national No Call List,
you may call 1-888-382-1222. By contacting this number, you will effectively
block all telemarketers operating within the United States from contacting you
concerning various promotions, offers, products, or services. Registering on
the No Call List incorporates law that will provide exceptions to a blanket no
call ruling. Furthermore, separate laws and regulations are applied to
robocalls or automated calls that are in the United States.

Exceptions to the No Call List:

When you place your number on the No Call List, you will block
most, but not all, unsolicited   calls.
The following calls or companies are exempt from the No Call List, as granted
by existing Federal laws and regulations:

The No Call List only
applies to residential lines. Business lines are not able to place their number
on the No Call List.

Individuals on the No Call
List will still receive calls from political or religious organizations.

Non-profit organizations
are exempt from the No Call List.

An individual will
still receive calls from those companies who conduct surveys.

Individuals will also receive calls from companies with which
the individual has an existing business relationship for up to 18 months after
his or her last payment, purchase, or delivery. In these scenarios, the
individual must specifically ask the company to cease calling them.

A person may still
receive calls from companies (up to 31 days) after submitting an application or
specific inquiry to that company.

Individuals, regardless
of their status on the No Call List, may also receive calls from debt or bill
collectors. These agencies, however, are regulated by other laws, such as those
that limit them to calling during “reasonable or business hours.”

Consumer rights are undeniable rights offered to a buyer of a particular commercial or retail item to eliminate risks or manipulative practices from their consumption efforts. Consumer rights are established in consumer law, which is the body of law that provides a consumer with various liberties aligned with consumption, such as providing product warranties or other consumer guarantees. 

Consumer rights will vary by jurisdiction. Such variance is present through different market behaviors latent within the individual consumer and the particular manufacturers of products within the specific region. 

In addition to basic warranties, consumer rights offer protection efforts to the individual buyer to include the establishment of a governmental body. The inclusion of a government agency will help monitor the general marketplace and effectively provide the consumer with various remedies to correct predatory sales practices.

In a general sense, consumer rights are delivered to the individual to help provide protection against any unfair, manipulative or predatory actions that are delivered by the manufacturer or seller of a particular good. 

The most basic consumer right under consumer law revolves around warranties. The statutory product warranty, for example, is a law that requires all manufacturers to state that their products are fit specifically for consumer use. Other examples of consumer rights will permit individual buyers to cancel a specific contract, or obtain refunds for defective or un-wanted products. 

The ability to sue for damages, which is another bundle of fundamental consumer rights awarded to individual buyers, will vary based on jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions or localities, based on individual State interpretation, will award consumer rights that initiate a buyer’s right to sue for damages.  

Without government inclusion or interference, consumer laws which surround the marketplace typically place the risk on the individual buyer. This principle, however, permitted spurious or unscrupulous manufacturers and businesses to take advantage of the individual consumer. This notion as eliminated when President John F. Kennedy signed the Consumer Bill of Rights.

Since the passing of the Consumer Bill of Rights, novel and unique consumer rights have been added by proclamation and statute, both domestically and abroad. The basic consumer rights added to the bill encouraged and guaranteed safety, notice, and choice, among other consumer rights. 

While several Federal agencies will enforce consumer rights, the Federal Trade Commission is the primary Federal agency responsible for upholding and protecting such consumer rights. The Federal Trade Commission establishes a wide array of consumer rights through the enforcement of laws to curb monopolies, predatory pricing models and bad business practices in various industries, such as consumer credit cards and telemarketing.

The Federal Trade Commission can levy fines or engage in legal suits against any unscrupulous business models for any business practice that violate any consumer protection laws or consumer rights.

Another Government agency responsible for upholding consumer rights is the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This particular Government department is dedicated to the preservation of consumer rights through their ability to investigate and subsequently recall a number of consumer products or services.  

Each individual State possesses its own consumer laws and protection efforts. The various laws instituted by State governments will establish warranties for particular products, setting maximum interest rates and penalties that a company can charge, establishing a fine system or penalties for deceptive sales practices, and establishing solutions for defunct products or services. 

The term ‘false advertising’, which is also referred to as deceptive advertising, is an illegal action taken by a marketer, manufacturer, or seller of a particular good or service to inaccurately advertise their underlying product. False advertising aims to persuade consumers in purchasing a product through the delivery of false or misleading statements.

To discourage marketers, manufacturers, or sellers from misleading the consumer base, the majority of governments will employ various regulations to eliminate the delivery of false advertising techniques.

The primary reason why false advertising is considered illegal in the United States and various other nations is that the consumer is given the undeniable and innate right to know what product or service they are purchasing. As a result of this right, the consumer base is awarded ‘truth in labeling’, which is the accurate and fair delivery of necessary information to a prospective consumer.

The delivery of information, including nutritional facts and other information regarding the product or service, is required to not only be delivered through the good’s advertising efforts, but also on the product’s label.

False advertising, in any form, refers to advertiser’s techniques that are meant to deceive a consumer. As a result of this generic and loaded definition, even advertising techniques that only have the potential to be misunderstood by a consumer may be construed as false advertising.

In most instances, false advertising techniques will lead the consumer to believe that the individual is somehow profiting from a purchase. The individual is led to believe that he or she is getting a good deal, saving money, or buying a good that will perform in a specific manner.

False advertising can come in many forms. The specific information latent in the practice requires that the underlying product be purchased with the notion that the advertising technique was truthful. False advertising can arise when a producer claims that there is “20% more” in a given food product or that a particular good possesses the ability to perform a unique or direct function.

In general, any advertising statement attached to the good must be truthful. Therefore, if the product claims that there is “20% more” within the packaging, there must be an increase of 20%.

A common false advertising technique is referred to as ‘inflated price comparison.’ In this form, a retailer will raise the price of times and then offer them for lower “sales” prices to indicate to consumers that they are receiving a “good deal” on the purchase.

Other forms of false advertising may revolve around products sold with a rebate. The rebate in this instance is not received at the point of purchase, but instead claimed by the buyer in the future. In these instances of false advertising, the companies may delay the delivery of the rebate.

Due to the many instances and opportunities that a manufacturer or seller may engage in false advertising, the United States Federal Trade Commission possesses the regulatory power to impede any potential misleading or deceptive claims made by the selling agency. To thwart false advertising techniques, the Federal Trade Commission will determine incidences where the potential to deceive is present in any attempt of advertising. 

If any claims made in advertising a product or service lead to a purchase because of the delivery of misleading or deceptive information, the underlying seller will be guilty of false advertising.