Reminder: Pennsylvania's 'Do Not Call' list is now permanent

Perhaps you were too busy holiday-ing to notice, but as of Dec. 3, your protection from phone spammers got a lot stronger.

As of that date, Pennsylvania’s “Do Not Call” list dropped the requirement that customers re-register their number every five years.

That means once you are on, you are on for good.

On Oct. 4, Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation (House Bill 318) amending the 1996 Telemarketer Registration Act. The bill was passed unanimously.

Per the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s website, “All consumers that have previously registered their phone number on the PA DNC list are listed permanently and are not required to re-register.” If you haven’t already registered, you can on the site. You can also register by calling 888-777-3406.

Pennsylvania’s Do Not Call list is updated four times a year. The next update will take effect Feb. 1, but your number would have had to have been registered by Dec. 15. The next update will be May 5; you will need to register your number by March 15.

Even for those who are not registered, the bill prohibits telemarketers from calling on legal holidays. It also requires robocalls to start with a clear way for recipients to opt out of them and that telemarketing voicemails must include a phone number to prevent future calls.

“If a robocall is left on an answering machine or voicemail, the message must provide a toll free number for the consumer to call back later and connect directly to the automated interactive voice-activated or key-press activated opt-out mechanism,” Mark Shade, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, told the Hazleton Standard-Speaker.

There are exceptions to the list, including: Calls made by businesses to existing customers or to consumers who have done business with the company in the past 12 months, debt collection calls, calls from charitable or fraternal organizations, veterans organizations, and calls made on behalf of political groups or candidates.

Anyone violating the law is subject to a $1,000 penalty. If the person being called is 60 or older, the penalty goes up to $3,000.

Shade told the Standard-Speaker that he estimates about 3.1 million people are on Pennsylvania’s Do Not Call list.

You should file any complaints with the Bureau of Consumer Protection online or by calling 800-441-2555.