Albany, NY – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation today that will reduce telemarketing by prohibiting calls that deliver prerecorded messages unless the recipient has expressly consented to such calls and requiring telemarketers to provide call recipients with the option to put their phone number on the telemarketer’s do-not-call list.
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The Governor’s legislation would also give authority to the Department of State to ban telemarketing companies that violate New York’s telemarketing laws from doing business in New York State.
“Unwanted telemarketing calls are intrusive and irritating,” said Governor Cuomo. “This legislation is designed to ensure that New Yorkers who choose not to receive these promotional messages are not forced to deal with these harassing phone calls.”
Currently, telemarketers licensed outside of New York are able to harass New York consumers, pay a negligible fine, and continue to do business in the state. Under the Governor’s proposal, all telemarketers doing business in New York will be required to register with the Department of State which will have the authority to revoke or suspend the registration of companies that do not comply with state law. In addition, violation of the telemarketing law could result in additional fines and misdemeanor charges. The legislation will take effect in 90 days.
At present, fewer than 30 telemarketers are registered in New York. In contrast, in nearby states that require registration of out-of-state telemarketers calling into the state, the numbers are much higher, ranging from over 200 in Pennsylvania to over 300 in Vermont and over 500 in New Jersey.
In 2000, New York enacted the Do Not Call law to protect consumers from unwanted and abusive telemarketing calls. The law permits consumers to place their telephone numbers on a central registry to reduce the number of unsolicited telemarketing calls they receive. New Yorkers have registered over 13 million phone numbers on the Do-Not-Call registry. From 2009 to the present, the Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection has received nearly 5,000 Do Not Call complaints and inquires; in just the first quarter of 2012, the FTC received 61,705 Do Not Call complaints from New Yorkers. New Yorkers who wish to place their numbers on the Do Not Call registry can visit: https://www.donotcall.gov/.
Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said, “Complaints about intrusive and unwanted telemarketers are pervasive throughout New York, but this new law will help by holding all telemarketers to the same standard. I applaud Senator Zeldin, Governor Cuomo and our colleagues in the Assembly for working together to hold every telemarketer accountable and giving consumers more power to avoid unwelcome solicitations.”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said of the measure, “This legislation is an important step to restrict aggressive telemarketing solicitations. I thank the Governor for supporting this bill and making these delivery restrictions and registration requirements the law in the Empire State.”
Senator Lee Zeldin said, “Unwanted telemarketing calls have become an increasing nuisance here in New York State. Under current law, out-of-state businesses that engage in telemarketing are exempt from New York State regulation and are not required to register with the Department of State (DOS). This bill, which I was proud to introduce in the Senate, will require these entities to register with the DOS and fully comply with our laws. I commend Governor Cuomo for his leadership with this important legislation and thank my colleagues in the Legislature for supporting this effort to help protect New Yorkers from further unwanted telemarketing calls.”
Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, the bill’s Assembly sponsor, said, “On behalf of harassed customers statewide, I applaud the Governor for signing this bill into law and helping stem the tide of unwelcome telemarketing calls in New York.”
Please start with every Charity organization in Israel and those “lottery” Split the pit calls- So annoying !!
This will be great if it really works. My phone number has been on the do not call list since it started and it hasn’t stopped the calls from coming in at all hours of the day and night.
To me the big issue is enforcement. We get loads of calls from false caller ID numbers. The calls might be illegal but complaining is worthless because the caller ID was faked just as easily as a return address on a letter. I assume that with real help from the phone companies they can track these calls but they will most likely run into international ISP tech companies that refuse to help.
The “Do Not Call” list isn’t very successful in stopping unwanted calls and faxes. The clever crooks are originating calls from off shore and are probably immune from our laws and the enforcement of them. I subscribed to the DNC registry and still get way too many calls. What bothers me the most are the un-solicited faxes I still get from companies selling, roofing, travel and yellow page adds just to name a few. They are in complete defiance of the current laws…without even a number to call to be removed from their lists. In the last few months I have received several so called Yellow Page faxed add requests, some with a contact address Dubai. My complaints to Verizon have netted me the aknowledgement that they can over-ride Verizons call blocking measures.
We never accept any calls from numbers I don’t recognize, much less “unknown” caller ids, except for the rare occasions when we are actually expecting a call at that particular time. If it is a legitimate call, they will leave a voice mail. Needless to say, most never do.
Such is modern life.
And please include collection agencies ym”s.
Funny how, even under the enhanced laws, politicians are still exempt…
I heard from some1 that when he gets such a call he picks up & says “911 whats ur emergency” it works wonders!!