Do Not Call Register reaches 4 million numbers
- 29 January, 2010 12:01
- Comments 7
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is celebrating 4 million listings on the national Do Not Call Register amid warnings that hundreds of thousands of people who have previously signed on to the Register will soon be re-targeted by telemarketers.
Advocacy group Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has warned of a loophole in the register which results in registered phone numbers expiring after three years.
“The flood gates to intrusive and unwanted telemarketing calls are about to open for millions of people who are unaware that their telephone number is about to be kicked off the Do Not Call Register”, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) chief executive officer, Allan Asher, warned in a statement.
The issue stems from the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007, which limits registrations on the Do Not Call Register to three years.
The standard first took effect on 31 May 2007 and numbers which have not been re-registered by May 31 will be re-opened for use by telemarketers.
To address the issue, ACCAN is calling for the re-registration requirements to be removed from the register.
“Immediate action needs to be taken to close the little known and ill-conceived loophole that limits registrations on the Do Not Call Register to three years,” Asher said.
“Forcing consumers to re-register their number is nonsensical. The renewal requirement was never a well-thought strategy in the first place and puts Australia behind international best practice.”
According to ACCAN, research by the ACMA showed just 25 per cent of those who placed their number on the Do Not Call Register knew that their registration was valid for three years, and only 15 per cent knew they could re-register anytime before their registration expired.
ACCAN’s call comes as the Federal Parliament considers changes to the Do Not Call Register legislation and the May deadline approaches for the expiry of more than 1 million numbers first listed in the database.
ACMA chairman, Chris Chapman, said the regulator was aware of the issue and reminded those who had already registered their phone numbers to re-register their numbers this year.
“A phone number remains listed on the Do Not Call Register for three years until its registration expires,” he said in a statement. “Very importantly, this means registration needs to be renewed after three years or your number will drop off the register and you may start receiving telemarketing calls again.”
One in three Australian households or 4.1million numbers are currently on the Do Not Call Register, according to ACCAN.
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Comments
John
I never got any calls until I put my number on this list so it hasn't really helped.
Cam
@John - I agree completely. After putting my number on the register I now receive up to 2 calls per night..
Mark
Disagree totally fellas....was getting two or three calls a night till I put my number on the list....now no more damn Indians trying to sell me stuff I don't want...only received one Indian telemarketer since and soon as I asked his name and company so I could report him because I was on the do not call register he disappeared really quickly...been blissfully peaceful since
Stefan
Adding my name drastically reduced the calls I got. The irritation is now a thing of the past.
I especially disliked the ones where they said it would take five minutes and took much longer, or the persistent ones pretending we had a won a prize who kept calling even though they were told we were not interested.
shoen
I signed up yesterday and I am looking forward to getting no more calls. If you check the website you will find a complaints section where you can dob in the companies that do not respect the list, they get fined.
William
It took three attempts to get our name on the register, and then it took at least 3 months before the indian telemarketers stopped bugging us. And then every other charity organisation you could imagine started plaguing us with up to 5 calls in a day. Some were probably legit ones, but when the same company calls 3 times a day you start to wonder. So the best way I found to discourage them was play their own game: Put on a stupid accent and start selling them the bible, recipes for mudpies or pretend you are severely deaf and talk a lot of gibberish. I actually found it quite entertaining after a while with the surprised responses. Funny thing is we no longer get any charity calls at all!
Darren Pauli - Computerworld journalist
Hi everyone,
If you are being contacted by an organisation that is not a political party, religious group or charity (they are exempt), let us know. Try to get the name of the organisation and the date and time of the call.
Your registration on the do not call list is permanent as of changes made in 2007.
Cheers,
Darren
Darren_Pauli(@)idg.com.au
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