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Fact sheetTelemarketingImportant Notice: The CRTC has been authorized to establish a national Do Not Call List (DNCL), select a third-party administrator for the national DNCL, and to levy administrative monetary penalties. In order to do this, the CRTC asked for input on the development and operation of the DNCL, as well as input on what specific DNCL and telemarketing rules are necessary and held a public hearing in May 2006. More information on this public process is available at the following address: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/process/2006/may2.htm. What is telemarketing?Telemarketing is one way that businesses can advertise their products and offer their services. They will often use professional telemarketers or call centres to make telephone calls and send faxes to potential customers on their behalf. To generate funds, charitable organizations will sometimes contact potential donors directly or through a telemarketing firm using unsolicited telephone calls or faxes. You may also receive a telephone call where no one is on the other end. It can be annoying and frightening. These calls are often the result of something called "predictive dialing". Some telemarketing organizations use automatic dialers to place telephone calls or send faxes. A "dead air" or "hang up" call will occur if a telemarketing representative isn't available when the call is answered. Generally, companies allow sufficient time between calls for a representative to be available; however, if the telemarketing representative is on another line longer than expected, the result is "dead air". Do any rules or restrictions apply to telemarketers?Yes. Restrictions apply to all telemarketers, although they may differ depending on whether they use a fax or a telephone. As a minimum, telemarketers must maintain "Do not call/fax lists" and provide customers with a fax or telephone number where a responsible person can be reached. Specific rules are included at the end of this document. I don’t want telemarketers to call or fax my home or business. What can I do?
Telephone companies and the CRTC will be able to assist you most effectively if you remember to do the following:
What are the consequences if telemarketers don’t follow the rules?Telephone companies can notify these telemarketers that telephone service to the lines used in connection with placing calls (telephone or fax) may be suspended or disconnected within two business days. Explanatory Note: New telemarketing rules were announced in May 2004. In September 2004 the CRTC suspended the enforcement of these new rules pending its determination on applications to review and vary the May 2004 Decision.Reference documents: Telecom Decision CRTC 2004-35; Telecom Decision CRTC 2004-63 Current Telemarketing RulesTelemarketing refers to the use of telecommunications facilities to make unsolicited calls for the purpose of solicitation where solicitation is defined as the selling or promoting of a product or service, or the soliciting of money or money's worth, whether directly or indirectly and whether on behalf of another party. This includes solicitation of donations by or on behalf of charitable organizations. These rules apply to all unsolicited calls for the purpose of solicitation. They apply to business-to-business telephone solicitation and calls from businesses to existing customers. These rules do not extend to calls where there is no attempt to advertise a product, offer a service; for example, calls for emergency purposes, calls to collect overdue accounts, calls for market or survey research, and calls to schedule appointments. Faxes:
Telephone Calls:
Automatic Dialing and Announcing Devices (ADADs):ADADs are equipment that store and dial telephone numbers automatically. They may be used alone or with other equipment to deliver a prerecorded or synthesized voice message to the telephone number called. ADADs are permitted when there is no attempt to sell, such as:
ADADs used for the purpose of solicitation are prohibited, including calls made on behalf of a charity, radio station promotions, or calls referring the called party to a 900/976 service number.
This document is available in alternative format upon request. Date Modified: 2006-05-11 |
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