Telco rapped for unsolicited phone calls

East coast telecommunications reseller Telco Service Holdings has received a formal warning for calls to numbers listed on the Do Not Call register.

A statement from the Australian Communications and Media Authority said that Telco Service Holdings, called Sure Telecom until 28 January this year, had commissioned call centres to make telemarketing calls. The watchdog reports that 25 of these phone calls were made to numbers listed on the Do Not Call register.

The violations occurred over a six-week period from August to October 2013, according to the ACMA.

"Under the Do Not Call legislation, businesses are responsible for telemarketing calls made by outsourced call centres, so it’s important to have a high level of oversight of the activities of contracted third parties," said the statement from ACMA.

Australian residents can submit domestic landline, personal mobile or facsimile numbers onto the Do Not Call register to opt out of unsolicited marketing calls. The registration lasts eight years and businesses have 30 days to comply after registration of a telephone number.

"It is unlawful, in the absence of consent, for any telemarketer in Australia or overseas to make a non-exempt telemarketing call to a number on the register," the ACMA statement said.

Sure Telecom lists offices in the Melbourne CBD, western Sydney and Cairns. The company offers landline, broadband and mobile products, according to its website.