Why You (Literally) Can’t Afford to Ignore the Do Not Call Registry

If you run a statewide or national call center, there are reams of regulations which you have to follow; break one, and you can incur large fines. And while they are all important, there is one which you absolutely cannot risk ignoring: adhering to the National Do Not Call registry.

What is the National Do Not Call Registry?

The Do Not Call registry (also sometimes colloquially referred to as “the Do Not Call list”) is a voluntary registry where Americans – or people with American-based telephone numbers – can register their phone numbers. By doing so, they legally protect themselves from, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , “unwanted sales calls — live calls or robocalls — from real companies that follow the law.” It does not ban all types of unsolicited calls; for example, companies can still call with surveys about their products, and charities can solicit donations. But once a number has been placed on the list, it cannot be called for sales purposes without prior authorization from the number’s owner.

Placing one’s number on the list takes less than a minute. To do so, users can head to donotcall.gov , input their phone number and email, click on the link they receive, and presto - they are on the list. This ease, and the fact that in 2007 the government removed the requirement to renew one’s place on the list every five years, has made the list incredibly popular: as of 2023, there were 250 million numbers registered.

The massive popularity of the list has caused businesses to have to tread carefully, because the fines for purposefully violating the list are enormous: up to $50,120 per call . That means if you violate the list ten times – and with the number of calls that some businesses make, that could be easy – you could owe half a million dollars. Plus, if you continually violate the list, your business license can be stripped altogether.

So companies are understandable for ways to ensure that they do adhere to National Do Not Call (DNC) compliance and do not accidentally violate the list. Fortunately, there is an easy one: National Do Not Call (DNC) list scrubbing.

What is DNC list scrubbing?

In short, a National Do Not Call (DNC) list scrubber “scrubs,” or removes, all numbers which are on the DNC from your organization’s calling lists. This is a piece of software which often comes packaged with other call software (though there are ways to get scrubbers separately), and is a simple and effective way of ensuring compliance with federal regulations. Depending on the type of software, it can either delete numbers entirely on your contact list or can simply put them on pause for a given sales campaign.

However, there is one important thing to keep in mind: most scrubbers remove numbers from the national DNC. Some American states, like Pennsylvania , have their own do not call lists which contain millions of numbers. It is possible (though unlikely) that someone may upload their number to the state list but not the national one. What that means is that while a scrubber will help you avoid most troubles, and troubling federal fines, it will not necessarily help you avoid state fines.

What are the benefits of DNC scrubbing?

The most obvious benefit is rather straightforward: by using a scrubber, instead of gambling on whether or not the person you are calling is on the list, you will not risk losing thousands of dollars and possibly your business license. That alone makes it worthwhile, as the fee for software which includes a scrubber is not going to be in the same universe as a federal fine.

However, there are other benefits to following National Do Not Call regulations which may not be as obvious at first. Companies calling people on the Do Not Call list often come across to callers as seedy, as they are, literally, breaking the law; as a result, people who get their calls are likely to immediately start off distrusting or downright hostile. But by sticking to the rules, and getting permission ahead of time to call or by calling those who do not mind unsolicited sales calls, companies can protect their image and come across as respectful of people’s privacy.

How does the MightyCall DNC list scrubber work??

Earlier this year, MightyCall announced that it would be integrating its services with the DNC list, offering users the ability to protect themselves from financial and legal jeopardy. When you use MightyCall’s DNC list scrubber, you automatically scrub the call list you already have in our web portal as part of the auto dialer set-up process. As it is fully integrated with the DNC list, it automatically updates for you - so you do not need to worry if you are using an out-of-date version of the federal list.

The feature only applies to outbound campaigns, as if someone calls you using a number on the list, you can of course answer it. It can be found under the Auto Dialer option; for each outbound campaign, the scrubber will remove any numbers found to be on the DNC list.?

The DNC list scrubber also does not cost users anything extra; it is not sold on its own, nor is it a hidden fee add-on. Users can access it via MightyCall’s Power or Enterprise price plans , both of which are designed for companies which might need something like a dialer. The Power plan costs as little as $30 per user, whereas the Enterprise plan, which is custom-fit, costs $50.

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By taking full advantage of DNC list scrubbers, companies can save themselves mountains of legal bills and strain on their wallets - while at the same time respecting the wishes of those whom they will hopefully one day call clients.