Contact: Janet Jenkins (608) 224-4929
MADISON–Wisconsin residents annoyed with telemarketing phone calls interrupting their dinners or leisure activities have until the end of the month to get on the state’s upcoming No Call phone list. No Call is a free service offered through the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
Residents must sign up for the No Call list every two years to avoid being dropped from the service.
“We currently have more than 1.8 million numbers on the Wisconsin No Call list,” said Janet Jenkins, who heads up the agency’s Trade and Consumer Protection Division. “And now, cell phone numbers make up about 38 percent of the numbers on that list.”
August 31 is the last day to sign up for the next two-year list, which goes into effect beginning in October. Consumers can always sign up later, but they will not be on the list that becomes effective on October 1.
Jenkins reminds families, caregivers, nursing homes, hospitals, institutions, and associations for the elderly that Wisconsin’s No Call law allows them to put people in their care on the No Call list. Also, parents who provide cell phones to their minor children can elect to have those numbers on the list.
“Being on the No Call list will reduce telemarketing phone calls, but not eliminate them altogether,” Jenkins said. “Non-profit groups, elected officials, and candidates for office can legally make calls, and there are always shady groups or individuals who knowingly violate the law in hopes of making a quick buck. These folks often use sophisticated equipment or techniques to hide their identities, making prosecution difficult if not impossible.
“Even though some people still receive telemarketing calls, as one caller from Madison told one of our operators recently, ‘Life in Wisconsin is much better since the No Call law was passed,’ ” Jenkins added.
Wisconsin residents can sign up their cell phone or landline numbers by calling 1-866-9NO-CALL (1-866-966-2255). It’s toll-free and can be contacted 24 hours a day. A person can also sign up online at https://nocall.wisconsin.gov/web/home.asp.
For more consumer information, or to file a consumer complaint, contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection on the web at http://www.datcp.state.wi.us; via e-mail at DATCPHotline@WI.gov; or call the toll-free hotline at 1-800-422-7128.
