Annoying telemarketing calls might be a thing of the past soon

South Africa’s Information Regulator (InfoReg) has determined that telemarketing calls constitute electronic communication. Therefore, the government must control these calls under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). InfoReg is determined to put a stop to annoying telemarketing calls.

OFFENDERS FACE FINES OF UP TO R10 MILLION

The InfoReg has completed a direct marketing guidance note aimed at guiding the direct marketing sector on how to deal with direct marketing, including telemarketing calls, in compliance with the POPIA. This move came in response to ongoing challenges faced by South Africans with telemarketers.

Offenders who don’t change their practices could face fines of up to R10 million or imprisonment. An investigation will follow after the organisation receives a complaint. Thereafter, they will issue an enforcement notice to the culprit. Those who do not comply with the enforcement notice, will receive an infringement notice and a penalty.

AT LAST YOU CAN SAY GOODBYE TO UNWANTED CALLS

“Following receipt of a complaint on direct marketing, we would conduct an investigation, which may be followed by an enforcement notice,” the InfoReg told MyBroadband.

Nomzamo Zondi, Senior Manager for communications at the InfoReg, stated that they will issue its first enforcement notice within the next week. “This enforcement notice is a result of our investigation into complaints about direct marketing,” she said.

InfoReg chair, Pansy Tlakula, explained that the problem is not that these companies call consumers for marketing. The problem is that they spam people with telemarketing calls even after these people have declined the communication.

“If you decline the communication, they should stop, but they don’t,” she said, expressing her own frustration with the situation. Telemarketing companies hassle thousands of people with annoying telemarketing calls daily. At last there is hope that they can say goodbye to these annoyances.

In addition to telemarketing calls, Tlakula expressed concern about SMS and email marketing, pointing out that most companies lack the recipient’s consent to receive these messages, as reported by SABC News. “Only after you have consented can they send direct marketing messages to you. If you say no, then a company has to have a database of all the people who have said no, so that they ensure that they don’t contact them again,” she said.

Watch an interview with Pansy Tlakula at the ITWeb Governance, Risk and Compliance Summit on 20 February here.

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