Telcos the worst offenders for Do Not Call breaches

Statistics released today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority show 55 percent of all complaints received in the last 12 months stemmed from unwanted calls to consumers by telecommunications providers.

ACMA said it has completed a round of formal investigations focusing on telcos.

The regulator said it had issued four infringement notices to telecommunications companies, including Dodo’s $147,400 fine, and accepted three enforceable undertakings from Dodo Australia, Astron Communications and People Telecom.

Formal warnings have also been issued to Global Telelinks, Ezycall and m8 Telecom, according to Chris Chapman, chairman at ACMA, who called on telcos to lift their game.

“This is a matter of obvious concern,’ said Chapman.

“Consumers register their telephone numbers because they want to reduce the number of telemarketing calls they receive and it is unacceptable to see that some telcos are not respecting that decision.

“Businesses have had ample time to adjust to the new laws and by now should have robust compliance measures in place,” he said.

Chapman partially blamed complex reselling arrangements and the use of offshore call centres as key contributors ‘to the level of non-compliance in the telecommunications industry’.

“Where reselling arrangements exist, we are looking for companies at the top end of the marketing chain to take a lead role in insisting on high standards of compliance amongst the businesses that depend on them,” he said.