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“I’m not calling for a donation.” (But really, I am.) Have you gotten this call?

You already may know that The Do Not Call Registry is designed to stop unwanted sales calls, but it has some exceptions. One exception allows for-profit fundraisers to call you on behalf of charities even if your telephone number is listed on the Do Not Call Registry. But when these charitable fundraisers call you, they must still follow the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

For example:

  • They can't call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
  • They must promptly tell you the charity they’re calling for and tell you if the purpose of the call is to seek a donation.
  • They can’t make a false or misleading statement to persuade you to donate.
  • They can’t misrepresent information during the call, such as:
    • The fundraiser’s connection to the charity.
    • The mission or purpose of the charity.
    • Whether a donation is tax deductible.
    • How a donation will be used or how much of the donation actually goes to charity programs.
  • They can’t use a robocall or prerecorded message to reach you unless you have supported the charity in the past.
  • They also can’t call you again if you tell them that you don’t want any more calls from that charity.

So, when the FTC learned that a fundraiser that solicits charitable contributions was violating the TSR, the agency took action. The FTC alleges that InfoCision, Inc., violated the TSR by telling people at the beginning of telephone calls that the purpose of the call was not to ask for a donation. Instead, InfoCision asked people to hand-deliver to family, friends, or neighbors materials asking them to donate to a charity. Later in many of the same calls, InfoCision asked people to make a donation anyway.

InfoCision has agreed to a proposed settlement order with the FTC that prohibits future violations of the TSR and requires the company to pay $250,000 in civil penalties.

If you hear from fundraisers who don’t follow the rules, hang up and report them to the FTC. Reports that include information about what is said during the call, and the names of the fundraiser and the charity, can help law enforcement agencies put an end to unfair and misleading practices.

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fortknox
January 10, 2018
6414508646 fraudent cell number in mason city ia. 6414508646
YEA RIGHT
January 10, 2018
Companies are not compliant with The Do Not Call Registry! I joined in 2013 and again in 2017. They've gotten creative. They call and I let it go to VM. They don't leave a message but when you call back the recording says, "If you want to be put in our do not call list press 1." They think that's away to keep you from turning them in. Not me I google the number and get their names and turn them in. WE don't want robo calls
Taliaferrof
January 12, 2018
I've turned in several but nothing was ever done.i have been on do not call registry for at least five years.
CallMeNot
February 04, 2018
I can't believe how many times I would be on the phone begging the professional fund raisers to remove me from their lists and then get even more robo calls from even more. If I spent all this time to report all the violations isn't that doing a full time job I am not getting paid to do. It seems even if you tell a person you are on this list it's laughable because the calls from whom ever still com in . My phones blocking at home and on my cell are full. Please do you really do something? If so share it with us.
fish
March 23, 2018

nothing works, every thing i did to stop this did not work. phone Co should have program to I D Charity,Fundraising,Telemarketing,Money,Credit. to block if you don't want them.

Paul H.
March 24, 2018
Our landline rings at least twice an hour with some off-the-wall phone number displaying in the ID window..which we don't even answer. Also starting to get calls on our new cell phones and son't answer those either.
Brooke8
August 10, 2018
They keep calling my phone number 5404479180 it is vzry annoying
don'tgiveto un…
October 10, 2019
What about "charities" that call with NAME UNAVAILABLE and NUMBER UNAVAILABLE? It seems to me that they should have to use a real phone number that you can call back and that the CALLER ID should show who they really are. I just got such a phone call from a call center(I could here all the noise in the background) and she started off by saying MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY. But how do I know this call was real? This type of call should not be allowed.