Don’t allow numbers on DNCL in perpetuity: telemarketers

Big users of telemarketing services are telling the CRTC that it shouldn't allow telephone numbers registered with the National Do-Not-Call List (DNCL) to remain on the list in perpetuity. They say moving away from a three-year period as set out in the original decision would be harmful to business and is unnecessary as people's needs change over time."Extending it beyond that will adversely affect a convenient and discreet channel for Canadians to obtain access to credit availability to address their evolving, individual financial needs," writes Temple Scott Associates for MBNA Canada Bank in comments to Telecom Public Notice 2008-14. "It will adversely affect our company and our more than 900 endorsing partners including colleges, universities and not-for-profit organizations for whom our programs provide access to new revenue streams."In the CRTC's original telemarketing decision, it determined that residential telephones registered on the National DNCL would remain on the list for three years. This period would also solve the problem of enabling reassigned or disconnected numbers to re-enter the telemarketing domain. Consumers wishing to keep their telephone number on the National DNCL would have to re-register their number at the end of that three-year period."Given that the purpose of the DNCL is to provide consumers with the option to opt out of a given suite of services, it is our considered opinion that it is not unduly burdensome for these same consumers to invest a few moments on a tri-annual basis, particularly considering that their preferences may change. There is little doubt that opting out is always easier and more beneficial to the market on the whole than forcing consumers to opt in," reads MBNA's comments.The move to make telephone numbers registered on a DNCL permanent gained momentum in 2007 when the US Federal Trade Commission revised its telemarketing rules. The FTC said that telephone numbers could be permanently registered on the National DNCL as long as there was a program in place to remove numbers that had been reassigned and disconnected each month.The Financial Advisors Association of Canada (Advocis) and the Canadian Bankers Association tell the commission that allowing permanent registration of telephone numbers could actually increase the cost of running the National DNCL. The two groups note that continually purging numbers that have been reassigned or disconnected will add costs for the list operator.The CBA says that, while it would support permanent number registration only if there was a system to ensure the list was accurate and up to date, the cost of keeping the National DNCL current might be too onerous."It is not clear how such a program could be implemented without further costs being borne by the list operator and consequently by telemarketers that subscribe to the National DNCL," writes the CBA. "Given that banks have just incurred costs to comply with the recent launch of the DNCL on September 30, 2008, we have serious concerns about further costly changes so soon after initial implementation. Since it is too early to assess the impact that the three-year registration period has on consumers, it may be best to defer consideration of this issue until such time that further information is available."The National DNCL is slated for a review after three years, and some suggest that it's better to wait until the list has been up and running for a while before undertaking a review of one its key tenets.

Don’t allow numbers on DNCL in perpetuity: telemarketers

News | 12/05/2008 5:44 pm EST

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