Tired of Telemarketers?

If you would like to stop sales calls to your home, you can add your phone number to the Federal Trade Commission's new "Do Not Call" registry.

The "Do Not Call" registry is a government-maintained list of phone numbers that telemarketers will have to check before making their phone calls. They face penalties of $11,000 for each call they make to numbers that are listed on the registry.

If you sign up anytime between today and Aug. 31, most telemarketers must stop calling you on Oct. 1. If you register after Sept. 1, most telemarketers must stop calling you after three months. Registrations are effective for five years. You can always take your name off the registry.

According to the FTC, placing your number on the registry will stop most, but not all, telemarketing calls. "Some businesses are exempt from the national registry and still can call you even if you place your number on it. Exempt businesses include long-distance phone companies, airlines, and banks and credit unions," the FTC said on its Web site. "However, many telemarketing calls are placed by professional telemarketing companies, and even if the company whose goods or services are being sold is exempt, the telemarketing company may be covered."

The easiest way to register is by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you are registering.

You can also register numbers online, at http://www.donotcall.gov. If you register by phone, you have to call from the phone number you are registering. If you register online, you need an e-mail address.

By Thursday, the sixth day the registry was in operation, 16.9 million telephone numbers had been registered, according to the FTC's Web site (http://www.ftc.gov).

To file a complaint after Oct. 1, get the company's name and phone number, and call 1-888-382-1222 or visit http://www.donotcall.gov. §