New State Law Restricting Telemarketers Proving Popular

 HARTFORD (AP) — Residents are inundating a state agency with phone calls and e-mails in an effort to stop annoying phone calls they receive at home.

The calls are in response to a new telemarketing law that allows the public to contact the state Department of Consumer Protection and get on a “no call” list. Starting in January, any business doing telephone solicitation in Connecticut cannot legally call a person who is on the list.

Violators of the law face $5,000 in civil penalties and up to $25,000 for violating restraining orders, officials said.

In less than a week Consumer Protection has collected more than 10,000 names of people who don’t want phone solicitors to call them, said Bill Ward, chief of enforcement operations for the agency. About 2,000 people contact the agency daily, he said.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Mr Ward said, calling it the greatest citizen response to a consumer initiative in decades. “It’s really hit a nerve. They’re sick of it.”

Mr Ward said he is confident the law can be enforced.

“We as an agency are committed to investigating complaints,” Mr Ward said. “I think we can be effective.”

Connecticut is one of about six states that have passed laws restricting phone solicitations, said state Sen Tom Colapietro, a Terryville Democrat. Other officials say at least 10 states have passed such laws.

Mr Colapietro said he proposed the law after becoming fed up with telemarketing calls, including a vacuum cleaner salesman who offered him $1,000 worth of free groceries.

“It just kept getting worse and worse,” Mr Colapietro said. “I tried to explain to them that nobody likes me enough to give me $1,000 worth of free groceries.”

The public can sign up for the no-call list for free by calling 800/842-2649, or by visiting the consumer protection Web site at: www.state.ct.us/dcp/.

Fed up with receiving many phone solicitations, Mr Ward is among those who signed up.

“It’s... an intrusion,” he said. “I don’t want to answer my telephone, that I pay for, to listen to a solicitation.”