Westpac has become the latest company to be warned about violating the Do Not Call Register.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) issued a formal warning to Westpac after finding that its call centres had made prohibited telemarketing calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Register.
After receiving more complaints about Westpac than any other bank, ACMA conducted a formal investigation. The investigation found that Westpac had breached the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 by instructing telemarketers to call numbers belonging to existing Westpac customers who had asked not be contacted about products or services. Under the consent provisions of the Do Not Call legislation, consumers on the register may receive some telemarketing calls from companies that they have an existing relationship with. However, they may withdraw their consent to receive these calls at any time and no subsequent calls can be made to them by that company.
ACMA’s investigation found that Westpac’s procedures for recording the withdrawal of consent had failed, resulting in the unwanted calls.
Westpac has since implemented a number of new procedures to address the issues identified in the investigation and is being monitored by ACMA to ensure compliance.
