How to get your number off their list
Feb. 18, 2006. 01:00 AM
The Canadian Marketing Association runs a voluntary "do-not-call" system for the $16 billion a year industry.
To get your name removed from the telephone lists of a majority of the country's companies that use the phone system, simply log on to the website the-cma.org.
Go to "consumer information," then the "do-not-call" heading, then follow the procedure outlined on the site.
A national "do-not-call" system, under the aegis of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is to be implemented in the fall of 2007. A similar centralized system in the United States has resulted in 6 million Americans registering on the "do-not-call" list there.
John Gustavson, chief executive of the marketing association, says some groups will be exempt from the national list in Canada, including charities registered with the federal Revenue Department; political parties; market researchers and newspapers. As well, a company will be allowed to call current customers, but will be limited to just one phone call each.
Currently, anyone can call a company directly and ask to be put on its individual "do-not-call" list, which is good for three years, Gustavson says. But he notes that this rule is hard to enforce.
The new national legislation, passed just before the election was called, provides monetary penalties to companies that do not comply. |
