Steps On How To Create Complain About Telemarketing Calls

Steps On How To Create Complain About Telemarketing Calls

What is Telemarketing?

Telemarketing is the process of selling products or services over the telephone. Businesses sometimes refer to it as “inside sales” or “tele-sales.”

What should I complain about?

Unsolicited telemarketing calls

You can complain about telemarketing calls if:

• it was received more than 30 days after you registered your number
• it was received before 9 am or after 8 pm on a weekday
• it was received before 9 am or after 5 pm on a Saturday
• it was received anytime on a Sunday or a Public Holiday
• it was not terminated by the caller when you requested it
• if the caller did not properly identify themselves and their employer
• if the caller did not advise of the purpose of the call
• if the caller did not provide you with information on request
• the phone number that the call came from did not display on your phone or was not suitable for return contact
• if, when calling the phone number that the call came from, you weren’t able to get information about the purpose of the call and the caller.

Unsolicited marketing faxes

You can complain about receiving a unsolicited marketing fax if:

• it was received more than 30 days after you registered the number
• it was sent outside the allowable faxing times
• the fax marketer did not provide you with the required information
• the fax does not provide an opt-out address
• you receive more than 10 marketing faxes from a particular marketing advertiser in a 24-hour period.

How do I make a complaint?

You can complain by:

• completing the online complaint form
• call

It is important to provide as much information as possible about your complaint.

How to make an effective complaint

The more information you can provide about the call or fax you received, the more useful the information will be for compliance and enforcement activities.

When you complain about telemarketing calls or research calls, useful information includes:

• the time and date of the call
• the number on which the call was received
• the name of the company that called
• contact details of the company that called
• what products and/or services were offered in the call
• the number that displayed on your phone during the call (or information stating that no number displayed)
• whether you have a pre-existing relationship with the company that called you.

When complaining about marketing faxes, useful information includes:

• the telephone number to which the fax was sent
• the telephone number that received the fax
• a copy of the fax.

If You are called by telemarketers, you can do the following

• If you have registered your telephone number on the National Do-Not-Call list, tell the telemarketer that you are on the list. Make a note of the time and date of the call, and the identity of the telemarketer for your records. You will need this information if you elect to file a complaint; OR
• If you are not registered on the National Do-Not-Call list, you can still instruct the telemarketer to place you on its company-specific do-not-call list if you do not want to receive further calls from that company. For your own reference, make a note of the date and time you asked to be put on the company-specific list. Having this information may be helpful if you get called again by the same company and wish to file a complaint.
• Explore whether your state has its own do-not-call list. Contact your State Attorney General or State office that administers the list for more information. Filing a Complaint will both accept complaints and share information, so consumers may file complaints with either agency. In addition to complaints alleging violations of the do-not-call list, you may also file a complaint against a telemarketer who is calling for a commercial purpose (e.g., not charitable organizations).
• The telemarketer calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM; OR
• The telemarketer leaves a message, but fails to leave a phone number that you can call to sign up for their company specific do-not-call list; OR
• You receive a telemarketing call from an organization whom you have previously requested not call you; OR
• The telemarketing firm fails to identify itself; OR
• You receive a pre-recorded commercial message or “robocall” from someone with whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you haven’t given permission to call you. (Most pre-recorded commercial messages are unlawful, even if no do-not-call request has been made).

How to file a complaint

For consumers who registered their numbers before September 1, 2003, those registrations have taken effect, and consumers may file a any complain about telemarketing calls at any time if they receive telemarketing calls.

For those consumers who registered their telephone numbers after August 31, 2003, the registration takes 90 days to become effective, so those consumers can complain about calls that they receive three months or more after their registration.

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Your complaint should include

• name, address, and telephone number where you can be reached during the business day;
• the telephone number involved with the complaint; and
• as much specific information as possible, including the identity of the telemarketer or company contacting you, the date on which you put your number on the national Do-Not-Call registry or made a company-specific do-not-call request, and the date(s) of any subsequent complain about telemarketing calls from that telemarketer or company.

If mailing a complaint, send it to: Federal Communications Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division, Consumer Private Right of Action In addition to filing a complaint, consumers may explore the possibility of filing an action in a state court.

Preventing unwanted calls in the first place

Filing a complaint after the fact can help, there are steps consumers can take to at least reduce the number of complain about telemarketing calls they receive.

Accordingly, adding a phone number to the more than 217 million numbers already on the Do Not Call Registry should stop “most” unwanted sales calls. The Telemarketing Sales Law allows political calls, calls from charitable organizations, informational calls, calls about debts owed, and phone surveys or polls, as well as calls from companies consumer has done business with in the past or given permission to call them.

What about “robocalls” — automated recorded messages pitching a product or service? It warns that most of them are scams. Consumers who get robocalls should never press phone buttons to “request to speak to someone or be taken off the call list.” Not only will they not get to speak to someone, they will just end up getting more unwanted calls. Instead, consumers should simply hang up and report details of the call to the Federal Trade Commission online or call.

What happens when I make a complaint?

The Do Not Call Register team assesses all complaints for a potential breach of the Do Not Call Register Act and/or the relevant industry standard. If a complaint appears to raise a potential breach, the complaint is forwarded it to the Communications and Media Authority.

It takes a graduated approach to compliance and enforcement, and any action taken is proportionate to the seriousness of the non-compliance. What, if any, action will be taken by will depend on the circumstances of each complaint.

Where it finds it has reasonable grounds to believe a telemarketer or fax marketer has breached the legislation, it has a number of enforcement options available to it. 

The majority of complaints are resolved informally through education and industry engagement. If it commences an investigation, it may take several months to complete. It may contact complainants for further evidence and information during the course of an investigation, if required. It will write to complainants at the end of an investigation, to notify them of the outcome.

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