Don’t Call Me!

Feb 25, 2010

By Susan Irwin, Executive Director / Lawyer, Rural Legal Services

(Editor’s note – warning, this column contains some wishful thinking about the outcome of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament)

It’s the last period of Canada vs. the USA in the final Olympic hockey game and the telephone rings: “Are you interested in a new way to save money on …” You interrupt the caller and likely say some choice words and before slamming down the telephone advise the telemarketer to: “not call you again, EVER!”

Unfortunately the telemarketing firm does not have to take your request seriously unless you have also taken advantage of the “National Do Not Call List” started in 2008 by the Canadian Radio Television Commission (CRTC) to try to reduce your chances of receiving such unwanted calls. Once your name is on the List, telemarketers operating in Canada are required to ensure that they do not call you.

Getting on the List is very simple. You either call a toll free number, 1-866-580-3625, or go to www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca, and follow the instructions to register your home telephone number, as well as any mobile or fax numbers. Although your name is added to the List within 24 hours, it may take up to 31 days before the calls stop. The registration is good for five years.

If you still receive telemarketing calls after the 31 day update period, then you can call the same number used for registration, or go to the website, to file a complaint. To back up your complaint you must be able to provide the following information:

either the name of the organization that called you, or the number where that organization can be reached, the date of the call, and your telephone number.

Penalties for calling numbers on the List range from a maximum of $1,500 for individuals to $15,000 for corporations for each incident.

As mentioned earlier, though, the List will only reduce your chances of getting unwelcome telephone calls at inconvenient times. It is not the complete answer to such nuisance calls as there are exemptions for the following groups and organizations:

registered charities looking for donations,companies conducting polls or surveys,political parties,newspapers trying to get subscriptions, andcompanies with which you have conducted business in the last 18 months.

If you do receive calls from these groups or organizations, and you can keep your temper in check long enough, you can ask to be put on the internal “do not call list” that they are required to keep.

The List will reduce the number of calls you receive from legitimate telemarketers, but it does not reduce the risk of fraudulent telemarketer calls. If you receive a call and suspect that it is part of a fraud scheme (offers of “free” vacations are usually suspect), before giving out credit card or banking information you may wish to call “PhoneBusters”, a national anti-fraud call centre operated by the OPP and the RCMP at 1-888-495-8501.

And, of course, you could always just ignore the telephone until the end of the game!

Legalese is a column of general information and opinion on legal topics by the lawyers of Rural Legal Services, Box 359, Sharbot Lake, ON, K0H2P0, 613-279-3252, or 1-888-777-8916. This column is not intended to provide legal advice. You should contact a lawyer to determine your legal rights and obligations.