TRENTON, NJ – It happens to nearly everyone every day. Your phone rings with an unknown number, and you answer it, just in case.
The pre-recorded voices say they’re from the ‘warranty department’ or ‘have a great deal on solar panels’, but they do not identify themselves or their company name.
That could soon change if a bill proposed in Trenton becomes law.
The law will make it a disorderly person’s offense with stiff financial penalties when a telemarketer makes an unsolicited phone call and does not reveal their name or company name.
“As amended and reported by the committee, the amended bill requires a telemarketer, within 30 seconds of making a telemarketing sales call, to provide the customer the name and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the call is being made,” the bill reads. “A violation of the bill’s provisions is to constitute a disorderly persons offense, in addition to other penalties as already prescribed by current law.”