If you or your employer are in business, before you pick up the phone to call a realtor referral or past client referral, understand this - it may personally cost you $11,000. You can be fined personally, as well as your company.

Let’s look at a possible example. Your buddy Jack the Realtor is working with a client named George Smith. He tells client George you can give him a great rate and passes the client’s information along to you. You call George Smith your new referral client.

George Smith phone number is listed on the DNC list. For whatever reason – your employer was not paying attention when Jack mentioned this information to you. George Smith got out on the wrong side of bed this morning, his wife ran off with another man or he may simply be in a bad mood – at any rate he reports you.

Unwittingly, you have just opened yourself and your company to an $11,000 fine. And if you called that person twice, make that $22,000. Not to mention that the customer can also sue you.

Are You Getting Telemarketing Calls You Don’t Want? Here's How to Stop Them T
he Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the National Do Not Call Registry to give Americans a choice about getting telemarketing calls at home. According to a recent Harris Interactive poll,92 percent of people who reported placing a number on the registry said they are receiving fewer calls; a total of 78 percent said they’re getting “far fewer calls” or none at all.

If you think you put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, and you’re still getting telemarketing sales calls, the Federal Trade Commission recommends that you:

•  Check to see that your number is on the registry. You can verify that your number is on the registry two ways: online at DONOTCALL.GOV (click on “Verify A Registration”), or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone number you wish to verify. Follow the prompts. You also can add your number to the registry using the same Web site or phone number (call from the number you want to register). If you register online, you will receive an email from donotcall.gov as part of the confirmation process. You will need to click on the link in this email within 72 hours after you receive it. If you don’t click on the link in the email, the number you tried to register will not be added to the registry, and telemarketers may continue to call.
• Understand that some calls are not covered. Once your number has been on the registry for 31 days, most telemarketing calls will stop. However, you still may get: ï‚· calls from — or on behalf of — political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors;
• Calls from companies with whom you have an existing business relationship. A company may call you for 18 months after you make a purchase or three months after you submit an inquiry or application; ï‚· calls from companies you’ve given permission to call.
• File a complaint. If your number has been on the registry for at least 31 days, and a telemarketer calls, complain to the FTC. Visit DONOTCALL.GOV or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY1-866-290-4236). You’ll need to provide the date of the call and the phone number or name of the company that called you. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.