Do Not Call Registry is working
Posted Apr 25, 2012 2:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It couldn’t protect Albertans during the recent election campaign, but Canada’s national Do Not Call Registry continues to be effective in blocking unwanted telemarketing calls.
According to a new survey, the majority of those who have registered their telephone number on the DNC list say they have noticed a big reduction in unwanted phone calls.
“Forty-two per cent of those who’ve registered a number report that they’re now receiving noticeably fewer or far fewer telemarketing calls,” Brendan Wycks of the the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association tells 660News. “Thirty-one per cent say they’re now receiving slightly fewer telemarketing calls. And five per cent say they’re receiving no telemarketing calls at all.”
According to Wycks, since 2008 the CRTC has issued more than $2 million in fines against companies for non-compliance.
But interestingly political parties, polling firms, registered charitable organizations, companies with previous business relationships with you and firms flogging newspaper subscriptions are exempt from the rules. That explains an uptick in unwanted calls during the recent Alberta election campaign.
If you’re getting calls from parties that don’t fit that criteria, Wycks says you should be reporting the callers to the CRTC.
“What people need to do is try and record the name of the company making the call and if possible the telephone number that the call is originating from,” adds Wycks. “And they should file a complaint with the CRTC for sure, because they will follow up.”
Unfortunately with all rules and regulations, there are loop holes.
“What we believe is happening is that a lot of rogue telemarketers from outside our borders — the U.S., Mexico and elsewhere — are targetting the more prosperous regions of Canada with a lot of automated dialed calls,” says Wycks.
48 per cent of Albertans have registered their phone number on the Do Not Call list. That’s the highest rate in the country.
