In 11 days, new federal rules will ban the widespread use of "robocalls," those annoying recorded phone calls hawking everything from vacation timeshares to dubious credit counseling programs.

But don't expect the robots to go away quietly. There are plenty of exceptions, and some consumer groups fear telemarketers could exploit them or find other ways around the new rules.

Charities and politicians will still be allowed to used recorded messages to solicit donations and support. Banks, telephone companies, insurance firms and other businesses not regulated by the Federal Trade Commission can keep their robots. Informational calls — like those from a pharmacy saying your prescription is ready to be picked up, or calls from an airline announcing a flight cancellation — won't be affected.

Despite those exceptions, the rules taking effect Sept. 1 give authorities an important weapon in the crackdown on out-of-control telemarketers, said Lois Greisman, who heads the FTC's division of marketing practices.

"We have heard loud and clear that consumers hate prerecorded calls with a passion," Greisman said. "And we will be looking wide-eyed for violators."

The nation's patience for robocalls has been wearing thin for years, thanks in part to the work of some St. Louis area firms.

Many brokers of extended auto-service contracts based here also had some of the biggest robocall operations in the country. Just one of those companies — Wentzville-based US Fidelis — was responsible for more than 1 billion robocalls, according to the owner of the telephone-dialing firm hired by US Fidelis. The company says it stopped all unsolicited sales calls last yeary.

The FTC restrictions are, in fact, the second half of a one-two regulatory punch. In December, companies were forced to add to their recorded messages a way for consumers to opt out of future calls. For instance, a consumer might be instructed to dial "1" to speak to a sales agent and push "2" to be removed from the telemarketer's list.

Far from certain, however, was whether the worst robocallers bothered to comply. This year, after the opt-out rule took effect, several consumers complained to the Post-Dispatch that they kept getting calls from the same service-contract brokers even after following steps to be removed from the companies' lists. (Faithful readers might remember my May 16 column, when I wrote about Scott Gelpi of Baton Rouge, La. He said that, for several weeks, he was getting two or three robocalls every day from the same St. Louis area company.)

New rules have been in the works for years. The delay stemmed from protests by the direct-marketing industry, which wanted permission for companies to robocall consumers with whom they had pre-existing relationships. But more than 13,000 consumers contacted the FTC to oppose any weakening of the proposed rules.

Using recorded messages to make initial contact with consumers costs a fraction of the alternative — employing the hundreds of call-center workers that are necessary to do the same thing. That's why consumer advocates figure telemarketers are now looking for loopholes.

"Whenever there's a new law, somebody will try to figure out a way around it," said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

The new rules allow companies to robocall consumers who give the firms written consent. While that doesn't seem too likely, Stephens warns companies could try to bury that permission in unrelated agreements, like those you must sign to participate in a sweepstakes or a product giveaway.

Greisman says that won't fly because the new rules require companies to be upfront when seeking the robocall permission.

Stephens also said that, as long as Caller ID "spoofing" technology remains legal, authorities could find it difficult to enforce the robocall ban.

Spoofing is the use of technology to cloak the origin of a call, or to make it look like the call is coming from another number. It's legal in some circumstances, but it's illegal to spoof commercial calls in order to misrepresent who is behind a solicitation. It's also extraordinarily common.

Companies willing to break telemarketing laws also will likely spoof those calls. As a result, consumers might not think they have enough valuable information to bother reporting the illegal calls.

They should.

"Even if the call is coming from a sham number, that information is still valuable to us," Greisman said, adding that the FTC can subpoena phone records to determine who is really behind a call.

If you keep getting robocalled after Sept. 1, file a complaint through the FTC website, ftc.gov, or by calling the agency at 877-382-4357.