All across America, people have filed complaints about the plague of automated calls coming to their homes. The recent surge in "robo-calls" is because they now cost a fraction of a cent to make thanks to the Internet.

The FTC has now issued new rules about robo-calls. Starting just before Christmas, you'll have an option at the end of a robo-call to press a button that indicates they can no longer call you. Then, beginning in September 2009, companies will actually have to ask for express permission before they even call you.

If you're on the Do Not Call list, you should already be exempt from robo-calls. Of course, that's not always the case. So will robo-callers really comply with the new FTC rules? Clark doesn't know.

Clark's solution to the problem is that he and his wife never answer their home phone. All calls are screened by an answering machine. He recently cleaned out the answering machine and found only 1 out of 42 calls was legit. And they're on the Do Not Call list!

Several categories of businesses will be exempt from the new FTC rules, including banks and airlines. With banks, they are allowed to robo-call you up to 18 months after the end of your business relationship with them.

There is some controversy over whether calling to inquire about a bank's services constitute the start of a business relationship -- even if you never do any further business. This remains a gray area in the law.