In my book Zero Debt I talk about the benefits of stopping the flood of credit card and promotional offers that fill up your mailbox. There is another source of unwanted and frequent solicitations…your phone.

If you are tired of receiving a flood of phone calls from telemarketers and other pesky sales people constantly calling your phone daily, try adding your phone number(s) to the National Do Not Call Registry.

The Federal government created the The National Do Not Call Registry to offer consumers a simple and easy way to stop most unwanted telemarketing calls. You can add your number to the Registry online or by calling toll-free, 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236), from the number you wish to register.

Here The National Do Not Call Registry Works

31 days after you add your phone or cell number to the registry, telemarketers are prohibited from contacting you by phone under federal law. The law is enforced by the FTC, FCC and by the state in which you live.

If you add your phone number to the registry, and are receiving calls from telemarketers after 31 days, you can and should file a complaint. However, you should be aware that calls from the following entities are exempt from the law:

• Political organizations
• Charities
• Telephone surveyors
• Any company that you have an existing business relationship with (like your bank, insurance company, or even that retailer that you bought something from)
• Any one that you gave written permission to call you (so be sure to read the fine print before you sign anything)

There are a few special circumstances that pertain to each of the above.

First, if a third-party contacts you on behalf of a charity, you may ask them not to contact you anymore on behalf of that charity.

Second, if you ask a company that you have an existing business relationship with to add you to their “do-not-call” list, they must honor your request.

Third, if someone calls you to ask you to take a survey, but what they are really trying to do is sell you something, then they too must comply if you tell them to remove you from their call list.

According to the FTC, violators can be subject to fines of up to $16,000.