DMA to Scrap Telephone Preference Service

The USA's Direct Marketing Association has announced that it will begin to phase out its Telephone Preference Service, following the rise of Do Not Call. The TPS service, introduced in 1985, was created so that people could opt out of receiving telemarketing calls.

With the federal Do Not Call registry in place since June 2003, the TPS is 'confusing and duplicative' and creates an unnecessary expense for association members, according to Pat Kachura, DMA Senior VP - Ethics and Consumer Affairs.

As of November 1 this year, the DMA will no longer accept new registrations for the service. However, it will continue to scrub prospect lists against the TPS file until Dec. 31, 2011.

The DMA said the phase-out would not affect its other customer preference services, including the Deceased Do Not Contact List, Mail Preference Service and E-mail Preference Service.

The association is online at www.the-dma.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.