Companies used a company which violated telemarketing rules
GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today its chief compliance and enforcement officer, Steven Harroun, has taken a number of enforcement actions against hundreds of real estate, investment and mortgage agents and brokerages who hired a telemarketing firm to recruit prospective clients which did not abide by the Regulator’s unsolicited telecommunications rules.
As part of its investigation, the CRTC issued 44 citations, 258 warning letters and 23 notices of violation with penalties totalling $103,300.
The Commission says it received 1,055 complaints from Canadians who reported receiving unsolicited calls from a third-party telemarketer from 2012 to 2017. Not named in the Commission’s press release, the telemarketing firm was soliciting customers on behalf of real estate agents, investment brokers or mortgage brokers (who were also not named).
“We encourage companies who hire a third-party telemarketer to ensure that they are fully in compliance with the National Do Not Call List and the unsolicited telecommunications rules. should they fail to do so, the companies will ultimately be held accountable. We thank all Canadians who sent complaints as it helps us identify non-compliant practices,” said Harroun, in the Commission’s press release.
Among other things, businesses who hire a company to make calls on their behalf must ensure the telemarketer is updating its calling list and no calls are being made to consumers whose phone numbers have been registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) for more than 31 days.
In addition, when hiring a third-party telemarketer, brokerages are responsible for registering with and providing information to the National DNCL operator, as well as becoming a registered subscriber of the National DNCL and paying all applicable fees to the extent their agents initiate telemarketing telecommunications, says the release.
