OTTAWA – The CRTC has imposed an $18,000 penalty on Imperial Data Supply Corp. for initiating six faxes to consumers whose fax numbers were or should have been on the company’s internal do not call list. It also was charged for initiating telecommunications without being registered with the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) operator, in violation of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
The CRTC says it received numerous complaints dating from November 2009 to July 2011, in relation to fax telemarketing telecommunications made by Imperial Data.
In its defence, Imperial Data claimed it had not been properly informed of its obligation to renew its registration with the National DNCL operator, “that errors do occur,” and that these errors are not systemic. Imperial Data however did not submit any evidence of other reasonable steps it had taken or business practices it had adopted in preventing calls to consumers whose numbers were, or should have been on its internal do not call list says the CRTC in its decision today.
The amount of $18,000 is due by March 16, 2012 and Imperial has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. The CRTC has cautioned Imperial Data that should it continue to initiate telemarketing telecommunications on its own behalf or engage telemarketers for the purposes of solicitation of its products and/or services, it is required to comply with the Telecommunication Rules.
