OTTAWA-GATINEAU — Hamel Système d’Information 2000 Inc., also known as Telelisting, has been ordered by the CRTC to pay a $260,000 fine for violating the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
Acting on information received from Canadians, the CRTC investigated Telelisting and concluded the company had divulged contents of the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) to its clients in violation of the Rules. Telelisting provides telephone directory services for online lead generation.
According to a CRTC news release, during the period from July 10, 2012 to July 10, 2014, Telelisting shared contents of the DNCL with clients who had not paid a subscription fee to the DNCL operator or were not subscribers.
In addition to paying the monetary penalty, Telelisting has agreed to voluntarily implement a comprehensive corporate compliance program and to contribute to awareness of the rules within the real estate industry, according to the CRTC release.
“The information that Canadians have provided to the National Do Not Call List administrator has been extremely helpful to us in our investigation of Telelisting. We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that reselling information obtained from a subscription to the List is forbidden, and that it is the duty of anyone making telemarketing calls to comply with the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules,” said Manon Bombardier, chief compliance and enforcement officer for the CRTC, in the news release.
To date, the CRTC’s enforcement efforts have yielded more than $5.7 million in monetary penalties.
The DNCL was launched in 2008 to protect Canadians from unsolicited telecommunications. Canadians can register their numbers, verify whether a number is on the List or file a complaint about a telemarketer by calling 1-866-580-DNCL (3625) or visiting www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca.
