I work for a security guard company. I call other businesses and set
appointments for outside reps in different states. Occassionally, a
contact at a business will request not to be called again and to be
taken off our call list. My question is: Can they legally bar us from
calling? I know that residential line owners can do this, but can
businesses?

Howdy redeemingheart-ga,

It varies from state to state, but this DNCSolution web page has a chart
so you can look up your state and see if they allow "business to business"
calls or not.
http://www3.dncsolution.com/marketing/12.asp

"LIST OF EXEMPTIONS TO THE STATE AND FEDERAL DO NOT CALL LAWS"

The National Do Not Call Registry does not cover your situation.  The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site has the following information.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/dncalrt.htm

"The National Do Not Call Registry is only for personal phone numbers.
Business-to-business calls and faxes are not covered by the National Do
Not Call Registry."

If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask.


Search strategy:

Google search on: "do not call" "to a business"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22do+not+call%22+%22to+a+business%22

Google search on: "do not call" "business to business"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22do+not+call%22+%22business+to+business%22

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

This answers my question. Thanks a bunch! Have a very Merry Christmas
and an awesome New Year!

My pleasure and much thanks for the 5 star rating, redeemingheart-ga!

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Denco: B2B faxes-- or ANY faxes-- that are unsolicited are not allowed
under 47 USC 227.

Redeemingheart, you can understand the annoyance many business owners
have with solicitation calls. It is usually best to apologize for
disturbing them and politely thank them for their time, knowing the
law is (unfortunately) on your side, rather than lecture them about
how you can legally call them. Any company rep that takes such an
obnoxious tack with me gets recorded (I'll bait the fool, too) and the
recording gets submitted to the biz licensing folks and the AG in the
caller's state, my state, and any other location I can find for the
company. Another copy gets sent to the company itself (legal rep,
listed on incorporation papers). I rarely hear from them again.

The trouble is the ones that call on VOIP and are crafty about their
location. They're obviously shady from the start, so they are more of
a problem. Those I tell that they've reached a number that WAS owned
by who they asked for but now is the local chapter of NAMBLA.

Look it up!

If they tell you not to call, don't.  What's so difficult to understand there?

Howdy markvmd-ga,

The question was not about faxes, but rather (telephone) calls.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Nelson-ga, the question was for my own edification. The main reason I
asked is because it is usually the contact, NOT the business itself
that wants to not be called again. There have been occasions where I
have called and found out the contact who requested not to be called
again has moved on, someone else has taken their place and has no
problem talking with us.

Markvmd-ga, I'm not sure if you thought I lectured businesses about
how I can legally call them or not, but I don't. I apologize for
disturbing them, and say I will take them off the list. When I call
back, I usually ask the receptionist if so-and-so is still handling
security guard contracts. If they are, then I say thank you and hang
up. Even though the law may be on my side, I will not use it to beat
the contact over the head and say I can legally call them. I don't see
how I can get a meeting for my outside sales reps that way. It's
amazing how we need laws to regulate what should be common sense.

Denco, I meant that your statement, "Business-to-business calls and
faxes are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry" might be
construed as allowing B2B faxes without limits.

Redeemingheart, I certainly didn't assume you berate folks. I really
like your method and agree that it is unfortunate that polite action
needs to be mandated by law.

Still, I love torturing the (admittedly rare) callers that are rude.