Great news published in the Ottawa Business Journal today.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/294900830890941.php

Two telemarketers are the first to have been served with notices of violation for breaking the rules of the national do-not-call list, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Wednesday.

The commission did not identify the telemarketers in its news release, and said it will not release the violators’ names if the fine is paid within 30 days without being contested.

“Although most telemarketers are abiding by the rules, we will use the enforcement tools at our disposal to promote compliance,” said Leonard Katz, the CRTC’s vice-chairman of telecommunications, in a statement. “The notices of violation we have issued serve as a warning to telemarketers that we will not look the other way if they break the rules and invade the privacy of consumers.”

Companies may be fined up $15,000 for each call to a registrant on the list, which was established in September 2008 to allow consumers to opt out of getting unwanted calls from telemarketers soliciting goods and services.

September 3, 2008

Starting September 30, residential wireline and consumer wireless customers who want to reduce unsolicited telemarketing calls can register Canadian telephone numbers (home phone, mobile and fax) on a new National Do Not Call List (NDNCL). There is no charge to register on the NDNCL.

People who register on the DNCL can expect to receive a reduced number of unsolicited telemarketing calls. Telemarketers are also required to maintain their own do not call lists, which people must register on separately to reduce or avoid calls.

The NDNCL rules do not apply to a telemarketing calls made to business customers.

You can register your numbers on the NDNCL in one of the following ways:

Numbers registered on the NDNCL will be added within 24 hours but telemarketers will have 31 days to update their telemarketing calling lists. So you could continue to receive telemarketing calls up to a month following registration.

Will customers still receive telemarketing calls after the 31-day period?

Possibly because some calls are exempt from the NDNCL rules, including some calls from:

• Registered charities
• Political parties
• Nomination contestants, leadership contestants or candidates of a political party
• Opinion polling firms or market research firms conducting surveys when the call does not involve the sale of a product or service
• Newspapers calling for the purpose of selling a subscription
• Businesses that have an existing relationship with the customer

Groups exempt from the NDNCL (except for those collecting information for a survey) are required to keep their own do not call lists.

What do customers do if they get calls after they are on the NDNCL?

They can lodge a complaint online or by calling 1-866-580-DNCL (3625), providing:

• Their telephone number
• Name and/or number of the telemarketer
• Date of the telemarketing call
• Nature of the complaint
• If it was a fax, a copy of the fax

The complaint must be filed within 14 days of receiving the telemarketing call. An investigator will follow up and determine if the rules have been broken.

CRTC definitions

• Telemarketing means the use of telecommunications facilities to make unsolicited telecommunications for the purpose of solicitation

• Solicitation means the selling or promoting of a product or service, or the soliciting of money or money’s worth, whether directly or indirectly and whether on behalf of another person. This includes solicitation of donations by or on behalf of charitable organizations