Rules for Telemarketing in the UK

In the past the UK had enjoyed a tremendous boom in the telemarketing industry. Millions of pounds are spent by consumers on goods sold over the telephone. Many small businesses to large corporations, charity organizations, and political organizations make use of telemarketing techniques or also known as telesales to connect with people, offering products and services for sale.


Telemarketing UK

The United States of America has many laws in place, the United Kingdom relatively few in comparison. Despite that the few laws that are viable are strictly enforced to ensure that people do not overstep the mark. If one fails to meet the laws of UK one could face some severe penalties which may affect the way a person does business.

TPS registry

During 2006 the UK launched some new rules which make things tougher for telemarketers. These new rules involve TPS or Telephone preference Service registration. The purpose of TPS is to allow people to register their telephone number to a database for the purpose of barring unsolicited calls to a phone number. Apart from people who wish to avoid getting calls from businesses without permission many businesses themselves have registered with TPS. Companies and businesses need to adhere strictly to this 'opt out' service which is utilized by business and private companies. This law is enforced and governed by the information Commissioner's Office, (ICO). Despite the fact that telesales calls are not allowed by businesses and organizations, the businesses do have the option to conduct genuine Market Research calls, once these market research calls are done, many people who agree to answer the questions may ask for more information on the products and thus an introduction is completed.

Telemarketing UK


EC Directive

Another law is the Privacy and Electronic communications regulations, also known as the EC Directive of 2003. This law means that it is unlawful for companies to do any telemarketing activities with people who have not given prior consent. This is particular relevant for business that conduct business to consumer (B2C) campaigns.This law ensures that customers are protected from unsolicited contact, and only receive contact if permission has been granted.

The FSA Mortgage Conduct

The FSA or Financial Services Authority has its own code of conduct and they advocate that telemarketing campaigns cannot be conducted as unsolicited or cold calling by phone to prospective customers or businesses. They deem it important that contact must only be with consumers that have a pre-existing business/ customer relationship. This law ensures that permission is granted prior to any sales pitch to a consumer or business contact.

Being aware of the laws helps business to conduct telemarketing campaigns that are more successful as they are dealing with people who have given permission to be contacted. If you are a company and wish to conduct a telemarketing campaign, one of the best ways to ensure that you have a successful outcome is to contact a professional telemarketing company, they will be well aware of all the necessary rules and regulations, they will also have access to lists of people who are on the TPS registry.

Telemarketing UK