The complete sham of the Canadian Do-Not Call list

Back in September of 2008 the Canadian version of the Do-Not Call list that was meant to protect consumers from increasingly irritating telemarketers went into effect. From then to now some 7 million telephone numbers have been registered to the list. Companies caught violating the list by calling people who have had their names added to the Do-Not Call list can face fines of up to $15,000 per call and individuals placing the calls can be fined up to $1,500.

You’d think that would be a pretty good deterrent – right?

Well apparently not as it seems that the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) has investigated 700 telemarketing companies for charges of violating the list. We only know the barest of details because the CRTC has pulled a veil of secrecy over everything.

Secrecy that is protecting 3 companies who have refused to pay fines of an undisclosed amount for knowingly violating the list. It is also secrecy that surrounds the three person panel of CRTC commissioners who will be meeting to figure out how to deal with the companies involved. The consumer has no idea who these companies are; and their names, and amount of fines involved with each, will only be disclosed at the discretion of the panel after it meets.

This isn’t setting well with a lot of people in the country and among them is Queen’s University law professor Art Cockfield.

Queen’s University law professor Art Cockfield said yesterday the CRTC should be shaming telemarketers, not trying to protect their identity.

Besides refusing to name telemarketers, the CRTC told the Star “there are no documents” relating to offending telemarketers, even though it has issued violation notices to seven telemarketers and confirmed hundreds of others were under investigation.

“Disclosing the identity of the telemarketing company would act as a significant deterrent, the so-called shaming factor,” said Cockfield.

Source: The Star :: Secrecy shrouds no-call probe

A CRTC spokesperson says the matter is handled in such a manner as a way to – “incite people to pay the fines”.

Ya. Okay. Sure.

What a load of crap. The names of companies that have complaints filed against them should be posted for all the web to see. Telemarketers are nothing but a total pain in the ass and I say that as some-one who is sick and tire of credit card companies, newspaper subscription departments and all other companies that use telemarketers phoning on the weekends or in the evenings.

It doesn’t matter how many times you tell them to piss off (and I have tried hard to be polite but after the tenth or fifteenth time patience and niceness goes out the door) they keep calling. What is even worse is that a lot of them are now using recordings as part of their invasion.

Pox on telemarketers and on a commission that would protect them over the consumer.