NO CALL LIST SEES MIXED RESULTS

When Cape Girardeau resident Linda Capone's telephone rang at 10:38 Saturday morning, she checked her Caller ID box instead of picking up the receiver.

After reading the message "Unavailable" on the box, Capone returned to what she was doing, certain she knew who the caller was.

"The Caller ID always says unavailable whenever it's a salesman," said Capone, 35, a secretary. "Occasionally it's someone I know, but it's very seldom that happens."

Capone said telemarketers call her home regularly despite her registration on the state's No Call list that became active July 1.

Lawmakers approved the No Call law last year to restrict unwanted contact by telemarketers to residential telephone numbers.

Missourians may sign up to participate for the free service with the state attorney general's office. Telemarketers must purchase the report for $25 to ensure they have updated lists of restricted households.

Lists are updated quarterly, after which telemarketers are prohibited from calling households on the list, with some exceptions written into the law.

The next update will occur next week. People who register by Wednesday cannot be called by telemarketers after Oct. 1.

Some success

The list is working for some participants.

"I signed up a long while ago," said Cape Girardeau resident Joe Don Terry. "I haven't had any problems."

More than 616,000 residential numbers representing 1.5 million Missourians have been added to the list since registration began Dec. 11.

Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said most registrants sign up for the service because they don't want to be annoyed when they're home with their families.

Hsin-Yin Shih of Cape Girardeau is not among the registrants but plans to be on the next No Call list. For now, she employs subterfuge when she realizes a telemarketer is on the phone.

"Whenever they call me, I just say nobody's here and hang up," Shih said.

Telemarketers found guilty of violating the No Call law must pay $5,000 per violation.

Cardetti said his office has received about 4,000 complaints of No Call list violations. The complaints have resulted in the attorney general's office filing lawsuits against three companies, while five others have signed assurances stating they will obey the law, obtain copies of the No Call list, and pay about $35,000 in penalties to the state.

"We think that provides real incentive for telemarketers to obey this law," said Cardetti. "We think early legal actions against both in- and out-of-state companies who have violated the law will send a strong message to telemarketers."

Capone, a secretary, said she hasn't filed complaints against violators, an action Cardetti said is crucial to making the law worthwhile. He advised residents to get details when telemarketers call.

Complaint forms may be downloaded from www.moago.org, the attorney general's office Web site, or by calling the Missouri No Call hotline at 1-866-NOCALL (662-2551).

Law has loopholes

But telemarketers aren't always in the wrong. Loopholes in the law allow telephone companies, certain not-for-profit groups, and telemarketers or appointment-setters working from their homes or on referrals to call numbers on the No Call list.

Businesses that have a current relationship with residents or who are invited by the resident to call also are exempt from the call restrictions.

Cardetti said efforts by Attorney General Jay Nixon and the American Association of Retired Persons to close the legal exemptions failed last year.

"We think that 1.5 million Missourians on the No Call list sends a strong message to the legislators that these loopholes need to be closed," said Cardetti. "People have a desire for privacy when they're at their dinner tables or with their families in the evening.".

Fast facts * Missouri's No Call law went into effect July 1 to restrict telemarketing telephone calls to residential phone numbers. Missourians must register with the state attorney general's office to be added to the list, which is a free service and updated four times annually.

* A telemarketer who violates the law faces a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each knowing violation. Since enforcement of the No Call law began, three telemarketers have been taking to court for calling Missourians on the list. Five other telemarketers have agreed to pay penalties totaling $35,000.

Exceptions allowed by law include:

* Telephone companies

* Those that have a current business relationship with you

* Those that you have expressly invited or permitted (for example, filling you name and number on an entry form).

* Certain not-for-profit groups if the person calling is a member of the group

* Persons calling on a referral or working from their homes, or any person licensed for a trade or profession who is setting or attempting to set an appointment.

Source: Attorney General's Office webpage www.ago.state.mo.us