As hundreds of cyclists poured through the Summit City, there was hope that the event would not only bring some exercise and entertainment to the participants but hopefully a changed view of the community in general.FORT WAYNE – Hoosiers can now prevent telemarketers from reaching them in their vehicle, at the gym or at the ballpark.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller visited Fort Wayne on Wednesday in part to tout a new state law that extends do-not-call protections to mobile phones.
Since the bill was signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels last month, 188,000 new numbers were registered on the state’s do-not-call list, surpassing 2 million phone numbers in total to be protected from calls.
Zoeller said that although the state doesn’t distinguish between a traditional land line and a mobile phone, he believed the vast majority of new numbers were from mobile phones.
The need to extend the list was driven by concerns in other states about residents receiving unsolicited text and video messages from companies.
While that hasn’t been a large problem in Indiana, Zoeller said the state wanted to stay ahead of the problem, especially in a struggling economy.
“As the economy gets bad, the spike in consumer complaints goes up,” he said.
State Sen. David Long, R-Fort Wayne, authored the original do-not-call bill in 2001 and said the vigilant enforcement by the attorney general’s office has made the law so effective.
Residents who sign up on the do-not-call list should expect a delay before telemarketers are required to stop calling.
The law also has some exemptions, although Zoeller said there are far fewer in Indiana than in other states. Charitable organizations, newspapers, licensed insurance agents and licensed real estate agents can continue to call residents.
Zoeller said signing up for the state program will not prevent Hoosiers from signing up and receiving text message promotions from specific companies. It does prevent unsolicited messages, however.
