Companies found on Do Not Call register Sonja Koremans
Thousands of businesses have wrongly been listed on the Federal Government’s Do Not Call Register, according to the DM industry’s peak marketing body.
Companies other than small home businesses should not be listed on the register, which was launched this year to stop unwanted telemarketing calls to private and mobile phones.
However, Rob Edwards, chief executive of the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA), said the initiative had been mismanaged and 100,000 businesses – many large corporations – were among the 1.94 million numbers on the register.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which manages the register, has admitted that not all numbers on the register were elibible to be on it, however the organisation has not explained how the error occurred.
Edwards said the blunder could lead to legitimate telemarketers being held in breach and accused ACMA of having inadequate checks in place for registering numbers. “The greatest concern for businesses that are on it is that (Communications Minster Helen Coonan) intended the register to be used for domestic companies,” Edwards said. “Small businesses that operate from home are entitled to register but large organisations shouldn’t because people in the legitimate role of business-to-business marketing could call those numbers and be held in breach.”
He said News Limited was one of several large sized businesses illegally signed on the register.
Edwards said people “prospecting office equipment or setting up appointments for sales reps” could be unfairly penalised under the system.
An ACMA spokesman said the registration process made it clear that telephone numbers used “mainly for business purposes are not eligible to be placed on the register”.
However, he did not say how numbers were checked and admitted that ACMA figures showed that some businesses ineligible for registration were listed. “Anyone who believes there is a telephone number on the register that is not primarily used for private or domestic purposes and has up to date information to support that claim ... should contact ACMA,” the spoksman said.
ACMA has not indicated whether the process will be reviewed.
