Everyone is familiar with them: those businesses that call to sell you a product. They are required to comply with certain rules, which are set out in the Telecommunications Act. For instance, during each telephone call (in the case of telemarketing) a marketer must actively ask the consumer concerned, whether he wishes to be called again. If he indicates that he no longer wishes to be called, the relevant marketer and/or call centre is required to remove the contact details of that consumer from his records, so as to ensure that it is no longer possible to call him.
New regulations
New regulations governing telemarketing were expected to come into effect on 1 July 2009. In this case the Telecommunications Act stipulates that a business is required to consult the telephone preference service register first before calling any consumers. Any consumer who has registered his details in that register may not be called. In addition, during each call a marketer must actively offer the relevant consumer an opportunity to decline to be called by the relevant business again. Moreover, he is required to point out to the consumer that the latter may submit his details for inclusion in the telephone preference service register. The relevant marketer and/or call centre is also required to register such a consumer in that register, if the latter appreciates having this done.