New home-based business lines are often flooded with harassing calls from collection agencies looking for the previous holder of the phone number now assigned to your business.
New business lines are also likely to receive dozens of phone calls from solicitors unless you take steps to stop these unwanted calls.
The service allows you to register phone numbers in a national database indicating that you do not want to be called for sales purposes or fund raising solicitations.
After you register, it takes about 31 days for calls to stop. If a telemarketer does call you during this wait period tell them you are on the do not call list and they need to update their information. Even if you are not on the do-not-call list, it is illegal for a telemarketer to contact you again after you have asked to be removed from their calling list.
Who Should Register with the National Do Not Call List?
All women entrepreneurs and other small business owners should register their business phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry. Unless you want to receive unsolicited calls on your home phone, it is a good idea for all work-at-home moms to also register their home telephone lines as well.
Numbers are automatically removed from this Do Not Call List when they are disconnected or reassigned to someone else. If you have a new phone number, you should register it as soon as possible since your new number is immediately seen as a "free-for-all" by telemarketers.
How Can I Register a Phone Number with the National Do Not Call List?
You can register online for free at WWW.DONOTCALL.GOV or call toll-free, 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236), but you must place the call from the number you wish to register.
