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Wouldn’t it be great if you could stop most of the sales telephone calls you are tired of dealing with all the time? You can! The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has created a National Do Not Call List that goes by the acronym DNCL. You simply go online (https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/insnum-regnum-eng) to their website to start the process.
You can register telephone numbers that are:
The only condition is that you have to be the person the telephone number is assigned to. That makes sense because it stops pranksters from blocking telephone numbers belonging to others. Once you register, it can take up to 31 days for the registration to take effect.
The good news is that it lasts for 5 years. Before the end of the 5 years you can then register again for another 5 years. It’s important to make sure you do that before the current registration period expires so you do not end up with a gap while waiting for a new 5 year registration period to take effect.
One of the first questions people ask is whether the National Do Not Call List will stop all unwanted calls. The answer is – not necessarily.
Many charities are exempted because they raise essential funds by telephoning potential donors. Making it possible for people to block their calls would separate the charities from those who make it possible to do their charity work. So the National DNCL has designed the system to accommodate the charities while blocking calls by profit making organizations.
The exemptions include charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). When you go online to the DNCL website, there is a link that will take you to the CRA where you can enter the name of your favorite charities to see if they are registered.
But even if the charities are not registered with CRA, the DNCL system is designed to allow you to give express consent to numbers you do not want to block. The system will also not block calls from organizations you have done business with over the last 18 months, newspapers selling subscriptions, and people doing public surveys.
Much to the chagrin of some consumers, the NDCL will also not block telephone calls from political parties or political candidates.
Of course, you can always ask an organization that is not blocked by your registration on the National Do Not Call List to not call you. Sometimes that is the simplest solution.
Registering with the Canadian National Do Not Call List is a good decision for those tired of dealing with constant calls from telemarketers. The system has been designed to be flexible and accommodating to your needs.
