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.
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.