Cell Phones

December 7, 2004 1:23 PM

Cell Phone users beware Dec 15th 2004 is the deadline According to the National Do Not Call List, you have until Dec. 15th 2004 to get on the national "Do not call list" for cell phones. They said that you need to call 1-888-382-1222 from the cell phone that you wish to have put on the "do not call list" to be put on the list. They also said you can do it online. Registering only takes a minute, is in effect for 5 years and will possibly save you money (definitely frustration)! Make sure you register now!
posted by Gooney (38 comments total)

I thought it was illegal to make solicitations to cell phones. On account of the end user having to foot the bill.
posted by xmutex at 1:28 PM on December 7, 2004

A link to the main page of the National registry which mentions nothing about a deadline for cell phone users is not very useful. Do you have another link with more information on this deadline and what happens if people don't meet it?
posted by jacquilynne at 1:33 PM on December 7, 2004

So, why is December 15 the deadline? That page doesn't really have any information.
posted by neckro23 at 1:35 PM on December 7, 2004

As far as I can tell, this is bogus. Nothing on www.donotcall.gov says there is a December 15 deadline. You can register your cell number, if you want, same as any other number, and the calling prohibition then goes into effect three months later. See the FAQ on the site under "More Information".
posted by beagle at 1:37 PM on December 7, 2004

Well, the first thing you might want to do is go to the real Do Not Call web page.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 1:37 PM on December 7, 2004

That "real Do Not Call web page" features a link to the link given in the FPP, XQUZYPHYR.
posted by mrbill at 1:40 PM on December 7, 2004

Apparently, there's a cell phone directory in the works (you have to sign up to be included, apparently), and its creation started a rumor that incited a hoax email that's going around...More information here and via Google news.
posted by jenh at 1:42 PM on December 7, 2004

Also, a brief page about this on Snopes.
posted by dryad at 1:47 PM on December 7, 2004

47 USC 227:

It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States—
(A) to make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice—
(iii) to any telephone number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call;
posted by smackfu at 1:48 PM on December 7, 2004

http://www.nocallsplease.com/index.cfm?page=disclaimer
is PA's site; they do have a rolling deadline for inclusion in the list by a particular date. Dec. 15 is one of those dates. Other than that, I have no idea about the Dec. 15.
posted by metaculpa at 1:48 PM on December 7, 2004

There is also this information on About. It looks like the minimal effort of registration might be worthwhile insurance. I think the 15th date is being fueled by the less than accurate e-mail .
posted by Crackerbelly at 1:51 PM on December 7, 2004

The only mention of the date on Google is relating to the Pennsylvania Do Not Call list, which does have a December 15th deadline. Maybe someone confused the national list with PA's one? Though it doesn't mention cell phones. And I don't know what a state having it's own list means to the National one.

Though a legimate concern is it you recently ported your landline to your cell, in which you may still be on a telemarketer's list.
posted by ALongDecember at 1:53 PM on December 7, 2004

Many cellphone companies now offer incomming calls for free. But according to the law posted above by smackfu, it should still be illegal for a telemarketer to make calls to a cellular telephone
posted by delmoi at 1:54 PM on December 7, 2004

Tip: Don't post shit to Metafilter that you get in an email from your mother.
posted by jpoulos at 1:54 PM on December 7, 2004

I got the Dec 15th Deadline from the Minneapolis Police Department which sends out security information via email to people who live in their precincts...sorry jpoulos, not from the mother figure.
posted by Gooney at 1:59 PM on December 7, 2004

an email from your mother.

Sadly, this is true in my case.
posted by BradNelson at 1:59 PM on December 7, 2004

Also, can someone call the FTC and straighten this thing out.
posted by BradNelson at 2:01 PM on December 7, 2004

So what's the deal then? Scam? Not a scam?

I generally just do my damnedest to befuddle any telemarketer who's lucky enough to call me. Ask them to repeat stupid things again and again and again. Ask them if the product is kosher or not? Whether any porcine blood has ever been spilled on it?

Fun stuff like that. Or say you've gotta go get your daddy and then put the phone down and walk away.

jpoulos, but my mom just sent me a really important security email from AOL telling me that my computer's vulnerable, if only I hadn't posted in the last 24 hours. Damn!
posted by fenriq at 2:01 PM on December 7, 2004

there was an askme thread about this yesterday
posted by puke & cry at 2:18 PM on December 7, 2004

(A) to make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice

So real-people telemarketers are not banned by this law?
posted by BradNelson at 2:32 PM on December 7, 2004

n00bs.
posted by Adam Greenfield at 2:34 PM on December 7, 2004

OH MY GOD YOU ALL KILLED METAFILTER.

does anyone remember the golden age of october 2004?
posted by The God Complex at 2:41 PM on December 7, 2004

I wish this would help me get rid of telemarketer calls that are aimed at my home phone, which is forwarded to my cell phone most of the time...
posted by zoogleplex at 2:43 PM on December 7, 2004

The God Complex, the memories are fading.
posted by oaf at 2:48 PM on December 7, 2004

Instead of hanging up on telemarketers or telling them to put you on their "do not call list" (which they usually only do for 6 months), politely tell them that they're calling a cell phone and you're being charged for this call. Even if you're not. They won't bother you again.

But I'm surprised that anyone's still getting calls - the DNC list has been almost totally effective for me.
posted by exhilaration at 2:50 PM on December 7, 2004

Ok, here's the paranoid side of me showing through... Is it possible that putting my number on this list will make it a target for unsavory folks? You know, if you reply to 'unsubscribe' from spam it's most likely going to increase the spam you get because you just confirmed your address to be real. If I put my cell phone number (which currently doesn't get telemarketing calls anyway) on this list, am I exposing it to the same kind of tactics?
posted by knave at 3:06 PM on December 7, 2004

I filled out the stupid form. I'm screwed, aren't I? I'm going to get telemarketers calling me day and night on my cell. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

oh great, my cell's ringing. Bastards.
posted by Juicylicious at 3:08 PM on December 7, 2004

Why would there be a deadline? That makes no sense whatsoever. What if I buy a cell phone the day after the supposed deadline? Spamcity for me forever?
posted by rushmc at 3:21 PM on December 7, 2004

If you're going to get taken in by hoaxes or mistakes, from cops or not, your link should at least back up your wrong assertion. Jeez.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:31 PM on December 7, 2004

Is it just me or does this post read like a classic phishing scam? It has all the components. The warning against using standard methods to deal with the situation...only call our number...link to a web site the is almost one site and not quite another. jpoulos nailed it.

The cell phone list is about creating a directory of mobile numbers, not allowing sales calls. The creation of a directory still has many folks upset. I do not know about the veracity of any of these lists to get on to keep your number from being listed, however. I just assume it will be an account option to be unlisted when the time comes, as it is on your landline.
posted by pivo at 3:45 PM on December 7, 2004

an email from your mother.

I, too, resemble this remark.
posted by PrinceValium at 4:11 PM on December 7, 2004

The directory is completely opt-in. Nothing to see here.
posted by BradNelson at 4:11 PM on December 7, 2004

I got the Dec 15th Deadline from the Minneapolis Police Department which sends out security information via email to people who live in their precincts

which only demonstrates that there are dumbasses at the minneapolis police department who are not only as clueless as an AOL n00b in a power outage, they also appear to be terribly confused as to what constitutes security information.
posted by quonsar at 4:38 PM on December 7, 2004

i called the number in the FPP and it registered my phone. seems harmless enough.
posted by NationalKato at 4:56 PM on December 7, 2004

So real-people telemarketers are not banned by this law?

That does seem like a loophole, doesn't it? But I know that is the relevant law for the "can't telemarket to cellphones" idea.
posted by smackfu at 6:57 PM on December 7, 2004

I'm with you, knave, on the paranoid thing. I've got my home number on the Do Not Call list and it's worked remarkably well...but no way am I adding my cell phone (which never gets marketing calls) to the list.

The Do Not Call list itself is distributed freely to telemarketing organizations--to me, this isn't a big deal because my home phone's already publicly listed and these guys harassed me constantly before the DNC list. Providing my phone number's not really an infringement of my privacy there.

However, adding my cell phone to the list does seem like I'm offering up a bit of my privacy because a) I've never given it out, b) It's not (to my knowledge) currently included in a public directory or database, and c) I don't get marketing calls on it now, so why would I add it to a list that gets distributed to *.*?
posted by jenh at 7:29 PM on December 7, 2004

That does seem like a loophole, doesn't it?

I got to wondering if all telemarketers use automated dialers, so it doesn't matter if they have real people or not. But then if they manually dialed the numbers...erg...pain.
posted by BradNelson at 10:55 PM on December 7, 2004

this is good to know, thanks for the heads up
posted by clubmedia at 12:43 PM on December 8, 2004