Telemarketers vow better self-regulation, as consumer groups push for legal action

Public interest groups warn that action is needed to curb a rise in telemarketing complaints, despite assurances from telcos that complaints are negligible. The CRTC’s current review of telemarketing rules (Public Notice 2001-34) has sparked debate on both sides of the issue, particularly from telcos and telemarketers who fear the commission may step in if it concludes self-regulation isn’t working. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Action Réseau Consommateur insist the current safeguards are inadequate and not enforced. In an April 24 intervention to the commission, the groups say for enforcement to be effective, the CRTC must be prepared to exercise its legislative powers. It notes that the commission can order a telemarketer to comply directly or indirectly through a local exchange carrier. "Such orders can be registered with the Federal Court and enforced as such," the groups write. "If the CRTC is serious about protecting consumer privacy through the regulation of telemarketing, we would expect to see more such orders and discon-nections." But data filed by ILECs appears to show that complaints aren’t as high as some fear. Between 1996-2000, Bell Canada said of the complaints it received, about 5,000 resulted in some form of "enforcement action". "This enforcement action consisted of an ‘education’ letter to the fax broadcasters or live telemarketers, or some form of communiqué, such as electronic correspondence or calls to the offender," writes Bell’s director of regulatory matters David Palmer. In only 11 cases did the telco have to disconnect service to the violators. Last year, Palmer notes, complaints to its call centres in Ontario and in Quebec made up only one per cent of calls. The other major ILEC reports similar findings. Telus has only cut off service to one customer because of violations. "In the majority of cases, the offending party takes steps to correct their processes to comply with the General Tariff," the company states in its submission. For smaller incumbents, the number of complaints rarely breaks double digits. The four Aliant companies filed figures for each individual unit. Island Tel and NewTel report no complaints at all. Gripes to NBTel range from a low of six to a high of nine. MTT registered 17 complaints in 1998, the only year the figure hit double digits. Manitoba Telecom Services breaks its results into two groups: complaints where action is taken and those with no enforcement action. The high-water mark was last year when a total of 13 complaints were received. In only six cases was enforcement action necessary. The phone company serving Canada’s north finds the topic is not an issue at all. "To date, Northwestel’s customers have not identified this issue as a major concern and the company has not identified any long-term continuous tele-marketing agencies based in its operating territory," the firm writes. The organization with the highest number of complaints has been the CRTC itself, which reported receiving 3,404 complaints last year. The Canadian Fax Telebroadcasting Coalition questions this data, saying the nature of these complaints isn’t known, including whether they applied to fax or telemarketing.

Telemarketers vow better self-regulation, as consumer groups push for legal action

News | 05/07/2001 4:00 am EDT

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