From consumer@the-dma.org Fri Sep 26 13:54:38 2003 Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 17:02:28 -0400 From: zzConsumer Affairs Subject: Response to your inquiry Thank you for your e-mail regarding the federal court's September 23 ruling on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) National Do Not Call Registry, which is to take effect on October 1. I respect your opinion. You should know that, in spite of any changes that might result from the federal court's ruling in this matter, it is - and always has been - appropriate for marketers to respect consumers' wishes. And this includes the wishes of those people who have registered their telephone numbers with the FTC's no-call registry. Consequently, you should know that the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) is asking all of its members - and the entire telemarketing industry - to respect the wishes of those consumers who have registered with the FTC, even though the federal court's ruling might delay the registry's implementation on October 1. You should know that The DMA does not oppose the creation of a national do-not-call list. Not at all. In fact, it is good, smart business not to call those people who are unreceptive to our telephone solicitations. That said, The DMA believes the judge ruled correctly that the FTC did not have the necessary authority to create a do-not-call registry. Because it is the job of The DMA to represent the interests of its members, who last year sold $211 billion in direct-order consumer sales via outbound telemarketing, we challenged the FTC's authority. In fact, The DMA had argued throughout the past two years that it was the Federal Communications Commission - and not the FTC - that had the legal authority to create this national no-call system. Moreover, because The DMA backs a national do-not-call system, we have maintained - since 1985 - a national do-not-call list that is free to consumers. It is called the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). Every DMA member - and many others throughout the telemarketing industry - employ the TPS list to clean their marketing lists. You can find information about TPS - and other consumer information relating to direct and online marketing - at The DMA's consumer-information Web site, which is located at http://www.dmaconsumers.org. In the end, The DMA has every intention of honoring the requests of the 50 million consumer telephone numbers that have been placed on the National Do Not Call Registry. Sincerely, H. Robert Wientzen President & CEO Direct Marketing Association www.the-dma.org