# Does the Do Not Call List Expire?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 8, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386 "2012-11-08T18:42:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/1 "2012-11-08T18:42:48Z")
My mom started getting calls last week.
Now I’m getting the damn things. “The FBI has reported” and “Cardholder services”. :mad: :mad: :mad: Filthy scum. I nearly cracked the phone slamming it down.
Do we have to renew the Do Not Call List ? How often?
Whats the legit web address? Google shows several and I don’t know which is the fraud, spammer sites.
---
### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/2 "2012-11-08T18:51:31Z")
No, they do not expire:
> [@](#):
>
> Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008.
> **[National Do Not Call Registry](https://www.donotcall.gov/)**
>
> Register your phone number to report stop or block unwanted, annoying,telemarketing, spam calls, robocalls to the FTC
The front page of the registry talks about the scammers.
---
### Author:  [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/3 "2012-11-08T18:53:43Z")
[https://www.donotcall.gov/](https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx)
Will My Registration Expire?
How long does my phone number stay registered?
Telephone numbers on the registry will only be removed when they are disconnected and reassigned, or when the consumer chooses to remove a number from the registry.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/4 "2012-11-08T19:20:29Z")
I guess the spammers are ignoring the list. I’ve gotten 4 calls from the FBI Reports a-holes this week. I slam the phone down after I hear FBI now.
The Card Services filth were calling all summer once or twice a week.
---
### Author:  [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/5 "2012-11-08T19:41:23Z")
The do-not-call registry says this:
> [@](#):
>
> Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at [Do Not Call Registrations Permanent and Fees Telemarketers Pay to Access Registry Set | Federal Trade Commission](http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm).
So if you put your number in early on perhaps it already expired? I’d re-add your number just to be sure.
[https://www.donotcall.gov/](https://www.donotcall.gov/)
Kelevra
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/6 "2012-11-08T20:00:43Z")
I just used the Verify option. It email back that my number was registered June 30, 2003.
Time passes so quick. That will be 10 years ago next summer. Anyway, the number is on their list.
---
### Author:  [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/7 "2012-11-08T20:19:57Z")
The Cardholder Services" people were shut down and fined a few years ago. Now for the past 6 months or more they (or someone using the same recordings) are back. [And are apparently being shut down again.](http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/goodbye-to-rachel-from-cardholder-services/)
---
### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/8 "2012-11-08T20:58:36Z")
Unfortunately, entries on the Canadian Do Not Call list [expire](https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/faqs-eng#rn_link05) after five years.
---
### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2012, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/9 "2012-11-09T08:05:14Z")
Too bad this doesn’t apply to political robocalls . . . especially in Ohio. Until Tuesday I was receiving over 20 per day (all but 2 were from Republicans).
---
### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/10 "2012-11-09T18:27:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> “The FBI has reported” and “Cardholder services”. :mad: :mad: :mad: Filthy scum.
Those are scams. They ignore the list, because what they are doing is far more illegal than List violations. They’re going to be operating from a different place, under a different name before the violations can catch up to them.
---
### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/11 "2012-11-10T00:25:24Z")
> [@Kelevra](#):
>
> So if you put your number in early on perhaps it already expired? I’d re-add your number just to be sure.
No, all the numbers that were already on the list were automatically made non-expiring when that law went into effect.
---
### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/12 "2012-11-10T04:25:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> I just used the Verify option. It email back that my number was registered June 30, 2003.
>
> Time passes so quick. That will be 10 years ago next summer. Anyway, the number is on their list.
Thanks for mention of the Verify option. My husband handled registering our phone numbers, so I wasn’t familiar enough with the site to know about it.
Confirmed that our current home phone and both our cells are registered. So is our former number (we switched numbers four months ago). Wonder if that one will stay registered or change if/when reassigned.
---
### Author:  [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/13 "2012-11-10T19:58:36Z")
I’m beginning to \*think \*that the Do Not Call list is a scam in itself.
I’ve called my provider (Century Link) and the person spoke with told me, after much discussion:
“They pay us (the phone company) a lot of money to allow these calls to go through. Sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”
So, I just screen my calls these days, but it’s a pain in the ass. :dubious:
---
### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/14 "2012-11-11T01:59:37Z")
Apparently, at least, there are _some_ telemarketers that abide by the Do Not Call list. Before I first took advantage of this, I was getting driven out of my home & mind by calls – At least several a week, more often, several a day.
Once I signed up, these calls decreased gradually over a 6-month (or so) period, to the point where I only get them occasionally now – maybe once a week on the average.
However, I’m still getting way too many calls (maybe once or twice a day on average) from certain sources that I think aren’t controlled by the Do Not Call list. As far as I can tell, most of these are from debt collectors, trying to reach some person that I’ve never heard of before. (It’s the same one person that all of them are trying to get.) But there are also a great many that don’t provide any caller ID (or an uninformative one) and don’t leave any message on my answering machine. So I never know what those are about. Those are the ones I most wish would go to Hell (providing, of course, that there are no phones in Hell they could call from).
---
### Author:  [@\_CenturyLinkHelp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_CenturyLinkHelp)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/15 "2012-11-13T21:56:40Z")
Hello Jake,
I don’t know who told you that we get paid to allow these calls; this is simply not correct. Here is a link to information on the do not call registry per the FTC:
> **[National Do Not Call Registry FAQs](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/national-do-not-call-registry-faqs)**
>
> The National Do Not Call Registry was created to stop unwanted sales calls.
We do offer features that may reduce the number of unwanted calls, such as call block, call screening etc. Though these are affective, they are not 100% able to block all calls. You can find additional information on these services at the CenturyLink website.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
Steve @CenturyLinkHelp Team
---
### Author:  [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/16 "2012-11-13T22:06:04Z")
**Jake** … don’t turn around! You’re being followed. Act all normal, do what I say, and we will shake the tail in no time.
---
### Author:  [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/17 "2012-11-13T22:39:21Z")
I think if you have a business relationship with a company it is allowed, f’rinstance BofA if you have a VISA or MC from them. Also I think political calls are allowed, not for sure on that one though.
I am a diabetic and I have a relationship with Liberty Medical as they send me my sticks. I usually order a 3 month supply, but they call within a month of my re-order. They are a PITA but what can you do? I just ignore their calls and when the 3 months are up I send in one of the 16 cards they have mailed me.
---
### Author:  [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/18 "2012-11-13T23:38:05Z")
> [@\_CenturyLinkHelp](#):
>
> Hello Jake,
>
> I don’t know who told you that we get paid to allow these calls; this is simply not correct. Here is a link to information on the do not call registry per the FTC:
> [http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt107.shtm](http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt107.shtm)
> We do offer features that may reduce the number of unwanted calls, such as call block, call screening etc. Though these are affective, they are not 100% able to block all calls. You can find additional information on these services at the CenturyLink website.
> Hope that helps.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve @CenturyLinkHelp Team
Steve, thanks for the reply.
I talked to an operator on the phone and after a short conversation this is what she told me. Nobody higher up.
My question still is: Why can’t they block 100% of the calls I don’t want?
It’s my phone that I paid for, and \*my \*line that I am also paying for. The only thing acceptable to me is an occasional wrong number.
What I’m asking is (I’m sure) technically possible. I should be able to block unwanted calls!
---
### Author:  [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/19 "2012-11-15T18:51:50Z")
I’ve always wondered if abusing the “live operator” can get you in trouble, assuming you navigate through the buttons to reach one. I’m often tempted to do that simply because it wastes their time and hurts their business, not unlike the 419 baiters who lead on the Nigerian e-mail scammers.
I realize the poor person on the other end of the line is probably desperate for work if they took that job, but if I blasted an airhorn in their ear, threaten to kill them, etc., could I be legally liable for anything since they called me?
---
### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386/20 "2012-11-15T19:14:36Z")
> [@Jake](#):
>
> Steve, thanks for the reply.
> I talked to an operator on the phone and after a short conversation this is what she told me. Nobody higher up.
> My question still is: Why can’t they block 100% of the calls I don’t want?
> It’s my phone that I paid for, and \*my \*line that I am also paying for. The only thing acceptable to me is an occasional wrong number.
> What I’m asking is (I’m sure) technically possible. I should be able to block unwanted calls!
I’m not Steve, just another suffering consumer. We should indeed be able to block unwanted calls and the phone companies’ ability to let us blacklist phone numbers is really lacking. They just don’t seem to care, or have any incentive to do so.
Similarly the ability to stop spoofed “from” numbers - seems to be basically impossible, or nobody feels like bothering.
There are _some_ tools. We have a call intercept feature that stops anyone from calling where the caller ID is completely blocked. They can get through, but they have to speak their name, then I get a special ring and I can listen to the name before deciding to accept the call. The caller doesn’t even know whether we were away, or home but refused the call. Had to get that feature about 12 years ago when we were getting nuisance crank calls every single day for several weeks.
And in the meantime, I screen our calls. If there’s no name and it’s not a number I recognize, I don’t pick up. We basically didn’t answer our own phone for the 2 months prior to the election.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-do-not-call-list-expire/640386.md?page=2)