Their timing couldn't be better.

A group known for calling you during dinner or in the middle of your favourite show will soon have their annoying tactics put on hold - permanently.

The national do not call registry comes into effect Tuesday and anyone who registers will have immediate help in warding off telemarketers.

And it seems like a lot of us will do just that. Almost two thirds of the Canadians polled by Acrobat Research said they plan to register their phone numbers on the federal list

Hopefully, they didn't call you to find out those numbers.

"I think what has happened in the last decade is we're finding consumers want their time back," Deepak Chopra, president of Pitney Bowes Canada agreed on CityOnline Monday.

"Consumers want to do things their own way ... and whenever you try to force a medium that's not what consumers want, you're going to see a big backlash," he added.

But that doesn't mean direct sellers are giving up.

"What we are finding and trusting though, what's fascinating is while telemarketing is certainly one thing that they don't like, they do like mail. They do like a personalized mail piece which is more descriptive, it's nonintrusive, it's not in the middle of their day," Chopra explained.

But phone calls do work, especially on certain vulnerable consumers.

"There are some very lonely people," Eleanor Friedland, consumer advocate for the Consumer Council of Canada admitted.

"The telephone rings, and that may be the only call that they get, and whatever the person is selling, they'll buy it, just to speak to another human being."

Any telemarketer who calls a prohibited line will face a hefty fine - up to $15,000 in some cases, though it will take up to 31 days for the list to be updated once your number's on it.

But the prohibitions will have exceptions, including charities, political parties, pollsters and established business relationships. Bell Canada will operate the list on a five-year contract and is responsible for investigating complaints.

Of course there are also proactive measures that can be taken.

"You've got a great alternative, call that company directly," suggests Koray Parmaks, vice president of marketing for Telax. "No company, as long as you're their customer, will continue to communicate with you in a way that you're not comfortable with."

The Canadian Marketing Association has offered a "do not contact service" for several years. You can use it to request they take you off their mailing and calling lists for three years. But the Association is phasing it out once the new federal program begins.

Here's how to get your name on the list:

Starting Tuesday, you can register with the government online, or, ironically, by phone. Call 1-866-580-3625 or 1-888-362-5889.

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