In recent news that may serve as a cautionary tale for telemarketers, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently announced that Comwave Telenetworks Inc. has paid a $100,000 penalty as part of a settlement for telemarketing practices involving the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) rules (which are a subset of the CRTC’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules).
According to the CRTC, its investigation found that, while the company did subscribe to the DNCL, there were months where it did not download an updated list. This resulted in the organization’s independent dealers calling numbers that were DNCL registered.
A financial penalty was not the only consequence of this violation. Although Comwave decided to end its telemarketing practices, if it does recommence telemarketing in the future, it has agreed to take a number of steps, including: review its compliance programs (and appointing a compliance officer to ensure compliance with the DNCL); implement training and education programs for staff; and provide an annual report to the CRTC documenting consumer complaints and steps taken to resolve them.
As the CRTC points out, the case provides a good opportunity to note that not only must telemarketers register with the National DNCL but also be sure to keep their subscriptions current. Telemarketers and third-party agencies are required to follow the DNCL rules.
Some DNCL basics include:
1. All telemarketers must register with the DNCL at www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca (even if only making exempt calls or sending exempt faxes). Registration lasts for 12 months.
2. Regular telemarketers (i.e., who make telemarketing calls or send faxes to consumers for solicitation or hire a third-party agency to make calls), have to purchase a subscription for the area codes to be called (fees are based on subscription models). Numbers must then be downloaded from the DNCL and deleted from calling lists, using a version of the DNCL less than 31 days old.
3. Exempt telemarketers (e.g., registered charities raising funds, newspapers seeking subscriptions and political parties and candidates) must register, but are exempt from the DNCL (but are still required to maintain internal do not call lists).
Once signed up, some DNCL and other rules to keep in mind include:
1. Making sure calling lists are current and that home phone, cellular of fax numbers on the DNCL are not called. The DNCL rules prohibit telemarketers from calling numbers that have been registered on the DNCL for more than 31 days.
2. Identifying who you are (and on request providing a fax or phone number where the person being called can speak to someone about the call), displaying the telephone number that you’re calling from (or that consumers can call to reach you), and only calling or sending faxes between 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekends.
The Competition Act also requires that certain disclosure be made by telemarketers both at the beginning of a call and sometime during a call. For example, the Act requires that the following information be disclosed by telemarketers at the beginning of a call: (i) the person on whose behalf the call is being made; (ii) the nature of the product or business interest; and (iii) the purpose of the call.
3. Maintaining an internal do not call list. In this regard, if a consumer asks not to be contacted, their name and number must be added to an internal do not call list within 31 days.
4. If making calls for another organization, clients must be registered and subscribe to the DNCL.
5. As a subscriber, don’t sell, rent, lease or publish the DNCL to anyone outside your organization.
For more information on the DNCL, requirements and exemptions see: CRTC – Telemarketing and National Do Not Call List.
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