OTTAWA – The CRTC’s Do Not Call List (DNCL) has been a costly success and the regulator is now calling on telemarketers to start picking up the tab. To date about 11 million Canadians have registered their telephone numbers on the DNCL and the costs associated with investigating complaints and enforcement have already amounted to some $9.6 million by the end of 2011 and continue to grow. In response the Commission is establishing a National DNCL cost-recovery regime to help recover those costs.
Under the regime the National DNCL List Operator will be authorized to recover the Commission’s investigation and enforcement costs from telemarketers at the same time that it charges them its subscription rates to access and download the National DNCL. The regime will start on April 1, 2013, to coincide with the Government of Canada’s fiscal year. The Commission is now accepting comments on its proposed Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees Regulations until November 22, 2012.
The current subscription fees for accessing the National DNCL will be divided into two components: one component identified for funding the List Operator, and a second component identified for funding the Commission’s investigation and enforcement activities (the Commission’s telemarketing regulatory costs).
The proposal also sets out a refund mechanism that would go into effect if the amount collected exceeds the Commission’s telemarketing regulatory costs. No later than ninety days after the end of each fiscal year, the List Operator will determine if the fees paid exceeded the Commission’s telemarketing regulatory costs for that year and, following confirmation from the Commission, refund telemarketers the excess amount. The amount of the excess to be refunded to any telemarketer will be determined by calculating the total amount paid by the telemarketer as a percentage of the total amount paid by all telemarketers.
The goal of the National DNCL is to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls made to Canadians and the number of complaints has decreased by 30% says the CRTC. An independent survey conducted in March and April 2011 by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) found that 80% of Canadians who had registered their numbers with the National DNCL reported that they now receive fewer telemarketing calls. There is no charge to register your number(s) on the National Do Not Call List.
Businesses and organizations that either make telemarketing calls directly or hire third parties to make calls on their behalf must register their information with the National DNCL. Moreover, businesses that make telemarketing calls on behalf of others must also register with the National DNCL. They must do so even if the calls are exempt from the National DNCL Rules.
