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Is it safe to dial the phone?
When in doubt, the safe bet is to leave the phone on the hook. Calling someone whose number is listed on the registry—even unintentionally—could result in an $11,000 fine. (You can find information about safe-harbor provisions for inadvertently calling someone on the registry in the January/February Texas REALTOR® or online at www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/0903donotcallsafeharbor.)
There are some exceptions that allow you to call numbers on the do-not-call list:
• You may call people you have an existing business relationship with (like clients) for 18 months after the end of a transaction.
• You can call anyone who has made an inquiry for three months after the inquiry.
• You may call anyone who has given you written permission to do so.
Two common questions about cold-calling concern FSBOs and expired listings. NAR has stated that an agent may not call a FSBO seller whose number is listed in the do-not-call registry to solicit a listing from the FSBO. However, a buyer’s representative may call a FSBO on behalf of a client who is interested in the FSBO’s property, as long as the agent does not solicit the listing during the phone call.
An agent with an expired listing, as well as other agents from the same company, may continue to call that expired listing for 18 months, since that qualifies as an existing business relationship. Other agents must refrain from calling expired listings if that person’s number is in the do-not-call registry.
None of the above exceptions apply if a person asks you to stop calling them. You must honor all such requests regardless of whether a person has listed their number in the registry. To do so, your firm should keep an in-house do-not-call list. If a consumer asks any agent at a firm not to call, no agent from that firm may call.
Several software packages are available that help businesses comply with do-not-call rules. Also, the Texas Association
of REALTORS® has created a Model Cold Calling Policy, which
is available in the Legal Tools section of TexasRealtors.com.
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