Telemarketers this year will join Santa in checking their list twice, or they could run the risk of possibly paying fines for calling Wisconsin residents on the state's No Call list.

The deadline for landline users to renew their status on the list is Friday, Dec. 1. The list, which is updated quarterly and drops names every two years, will go into effect with all of the renewed names Jan. 1.

The No Call list, implemented in 2002, prevents telemarketers from calling citizens who have added their phone numbers to the list. The list at one time contained about 1.5 million numbers and has since dropped about 400,000 numbers.

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, originally proposed the legislation for the No Call list after compiling input from a number of listening sessions he held across the state.

Since its implementation, Erpenbach said, the list has been a success.

"Pretty much the only telemarketing calls people get now are political calls, which aren't banned as part of the No Call list," he said.

Due to the high turnover rate in phone numbers, the legislation dictates that citizens need to renew their status on the list every two years.

The new problem, Erpenbach said, is that cell phones are not included in the list. Although telemarketing on cell phones is not currently a significant problem, he said, in the future, problems will certainly arise.

According to Erpenbach, legislation will be reintroduced in the next state Legislative session addressing the addition of cell phones and small businesses to the numbers allowed on the list. The legislation also might include an increase in fine amounts, which are currently $100 per violation.

"$10,000 per call would certainly get telemarketers' attention," Erpenbach said.

Trina Kluever, the consumer specialist lead worker in the No-Call program at the Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection, also noted the program's success, citing 1.3 million members currently on the list.

Kluever added the program still does receive complaints, totaling about 3,200 in 2005. Many of the complaints, she noted, are from people confused about what the list covers.

"Anyone making telemarketing calls must abide by it," Kluever said. "Some of the exemptions are surveys or research calls, political calls and calls from non-profits seeking donations."

In addition, people often call confused about the difference between the federal No Call list and the state No Call list, she said, since cell phones are covered by the federal list but not by the state list.

John Stevenson, the Associate Director for Research Services at the University of Wisconsin Survey Center, said that the list's effect on the facility has been "marginal," but that some people have expressed confusion about the reach of the list.

"When people are doing non-marketing stuff, the No Call doesn't apply," Stevenson said. "All the work we do is scientific studies. … We don't serve the private sector at all."

When the law came into effect, he added, scripted responses were written for interviewers to explain to people UWSC's exemption from the No Call list. UWSC, Stevenson said, seeks information, as opposed to marketing, where people "just want to make the sale."

According to Stevenson, UWSC receives only a handful of complaints every couple months. In fact, he noted, as people get fewer calls from telemarketers, they are more likely to participate in the UWSC's surveys.

Consumers can get on the No Call list via a toll-free number, 1-866-9NO-CALL, or online at www.nocall.wisconsin.gov. Individuals must provide their phone number and zip code.