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Direct sales telephone calls have become a major
marketing tool for many small and medium sized
businesses in recent times. Direct Sales calls
to members of the public have reached a level
where they are sometimes perceived as a nuisance,
and the Telephone Preference Service has been
set up to give telephone users the opportunity
to ‘opt out’ from receiving such calls, and apply
fines to those companies who do not respect this
choice.
From 25th June 2004, the Corporate Telephone Preference Service regulations have extended this ‘opt out’ to cover Business Telephone Services. This means that businesses should no longer make unsolicited calls to any business telephone number they may acquire. If a business has ‘opted out’ and receives an unsolicited call, they are entitled to report the calling company to the Office of the Information Commissioner, who can punish them with a fine of £5000.
The new regulations apply to all businesses that make unsolicited calls, whether to existing customers or new prospective customers. It is therefore most important to screen your telephone lists regularly. If you are regularly making a substantial number of calls, you should obtain a Data File and licence from the Telephone Preference Service. However, if your telephone list is less than about 500 numbers per month it may well be more practical to contact a local List Cleanser.
For further details of TPS Services, and List Cleansers, check out www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/ or contact us for further information on Telephone Marketing Lists, List Cleansers and Practical Marketing Tools and methods.
Bill Jones
POSTILLION Business Management Support
Tel: 01494 451239
Independent Advice and Support
Executive Associate, Institute for Independent
Business
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