Telemarketers who violate the Do Not Call registry can expect their fines in New York to nearby double as a result of legislation signed into law last Wednesday.
The move amends New York’s general business law to raise the maximum fine for violators from the former $11,000 penalty to $20,000.
This will build on legislation from December 2022 that requires telemarketers to give customers the option to be added to the company’s do-not-call list.
And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand pushed for federal Do Not Call legislation in 2021 that would allow for prison time for knowingly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and raise fines for falsifying caller identification from $10,000 to $20,000. A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. House this year.
According to the New York State Division of Consumer Protection‘s 2022 Annual Report, between 2021 and 2022, there was a 46% decrease in consumer complaints concerning violations of the Do Not Call (DNC) Law in New York.
And so far in 2023, the DCP has received 63,987 complaints, state officials said, compared to 131,851 in 2022 and 247,014 in 2021.
But for many consumers, robocalls have been replaced by robotexts, which are extremely difficult to track and regulate.
How to register for Do Not Call registry:
You can register your phone number online at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222.
If you register by phone, you must call from the phone number you wish to register. And once you’ve registered, your number remains on the registry unless the phone number is permanently disconnected and reassigned to someone else or you choose to remove it.
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