Massachusetts Starts Taking Names for Do-Not-Call List

Telemarketers looking to mine the Bay State better move quickly: Of Massachusetts’ three million residential phone numbers, 300,076 have been registered with the state’s do-not-call list since Jan. 1.

The state expects to have 1 million of them on its file by the end of the month, according to Anne L. Collins, deputy director of the Massachusetts office of consumer affairs and business regulation.

Collins bases her estimate on the enrollment levels seen in the first month of New York and Pennsylvania’s lists. "Those states are slightly larger, but that doesn’t seem to be out of the ballpark," she said.

She has asked GovConnect, which is coordinating the list and enrollment process, to be prepared to handle that level of activity. GovConnect was awarded the contract on Oct. 31, two months after Massachusetts passed its do-not-call law. While its official launch date was Jan. 1, it was soft launched on Dec. 24. Registrations for both consumers and businesses are being handled through a Web site (www.mass.gov/donotcall).

Once the list is available on April 1, telemarketers that call someone on the file with whom they do not have a preexisting business relationship may face fines of up to $5,000.

Nonprofit organizations, political entities and firms that don’t intend to complete the sale over the telephone are exempt from the new law.