OTTAWA – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) welcomed today’s launch of the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Do Not Call List will reduce Canadians’ unwanted telephone solicitation by requiring telemarketers to remove numbers on the DNCL from their telemarketing lists.
“The Do Not Call List is a wonderful victory for consumers who have complained about telemarketing for years but had no practical way to stop calls,” said John Lawford, counsel for PIAC. “There will be growing pains while the Do Not Call List grows but we urge consumers to get on the list and to complain when they receive calls that they shouldn’t.”
PIAC notes that consumers must wait 31 days after registering with the list before expecting some calls to stop. “In addition, charities, companies you already do business with and some other groups are exempted from the main Do Not Call List,” added Lawford. “However, consumers can still block calls from the exempted organizations by being asking to be put on that organization’s internal do not call list, in which case the CRTC will enforce that list just as they do the main Do Not Call List.”
Lawford noted that while Canadians may be unhappy with all the DNCL exemptions, that it is important to first get on the list, then for consumers who are unhappy with the continuing calls to pressure government for removal of the exemptions. “And in the meanwhile, we urge consumers who have received calls after registration to complain if they keep getting them by recontacting the main Do Not Call List number and making a complaint.”
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To Register or Complain:
Go online to www.LNNET-DNCL.gc.ca or call toll-free (from the number you want to register): 1-866-580-DNCL (1-866-580-3625). Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (toll free): 1-888-DNCL-TTY (1-888-362-5889).
More consumer information regarding the National Do Not Call List can be found on the CRTC website: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/dncl.htm
Please contact:
John Lawford
Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
ONE Nicholas Street, Suite 1204
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7B7
(613) 562-4002×25
(613) 562-0007 (Fax)
jlawford@piac.ca