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Energy Firm Slapped With $65,000 Fine For Making 1.5 Million Nuisance Calls (theregister.co.uk)
A UK firm offering people energy-saving solutions has been fined after making almost 1.5 million unsolicited calls without checking if the numbers were registered on the UK's opt-out database. From a report: Southampton-based Home Logic used a dialler system to screen the telephone numbers that it planned to call against the Telephone Preference Service register, which allows people to opt out of receiving marketing calls. This system was unavailable for at least 90 days out of the 220 between April 2015 and March 2016 due to technical issues -- but that didn't stop Home Logic from continuing to make phone calls. Some 1,475,969 were made in that time. And, as a result, Blighty's data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office received 133 complaints about the firm from people who had registered with the TPS and did not expect to be picking up the phone to marketeers. It ruled that the biz had breached the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and duly fined it 50,000 pound ($64,500).
We call that, "the cost of doing business"
$65,000! That is like 10 hours of profit. That will show them!
Wouldn't it make more sense to fine £50,000 *plus* 10x the financial gain from those calls? If 1,500,000 calls generate more than £50,000 in profit (over say 2 years), there is no incentive to obey the law. Make it hurt to defraud the public, make it financially debilitating to commit financial crimes, and tadaa, you will see a decline. When companies get slapped on the wrist for lying, destroying the environment, scamming the elderly, or stealing money from the poor, they will continue doing so. This isn't rocket surgery.
Opt out list are the grabbing the pig by the wrong leg.
We could have gone with Opt In lists.
But the best way to go about it is to have a way to set your own phone line to not accept telemarketing calls. Then when a telemarketer makes a call to that line, the phone switch simply drops that call. Marketers with an exsisting relation ship could over ride that by sending a counter signal that yes, they have a signed permission slip from the lessor of that number to make a marketing call. If they use the over ride signal, and the lessor doesn't agree, the lessor hangs up, dials a #XX number to say "Oh, no they didn't!" Then the caller has to provide evidence they did have permission. If they don't then it's a $10,000 fine per each call. And after 20 calls in 24 hours of folks say "Oh no they didn't!", the marketer's line gets automatically shut down.
End of unsolicited telemarketing problem.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Putting yourself on the list is the first step. The second steps is to complain when someone calls you. You can use the same DNC website for that.
And then, when someone calls you, try to get some information from them before you tell them you're on the list. Information such as the name and location of the company, a callback number, or other details. Add this information to the complaint report you file on the DNC website.
And when you do tell them you're on the DNC list, don't let them feed you any crap like "oh, sorry, I'll remove you from my list then." Their list doesn't matter. The DNC list does, and they should be checking it before they call you.
Companies can be fined big bucks for each call they make to a DNC number. But you have to complain for that to happen.
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
Can't speak for the UK, but here in the US Do Not Call lists allow calls from pollsters, """nonprofits""" and politicians. They're more like 100% free Do Rip Me Off lists. Here's some numbers we guarantee are real and the certainty you aren't competing with people who sell actual products.
I bet if you asked people, they'd say they'd prefer an inverted list that allows telemarketers but forbids all the others. I mean, if a telemarketer tricks me into an extended vehicle warranty, I at least get some kind of extended vehicle warranty. I can't say I felt as good about subsidizing the latest Wounded Warrior rootbeer can pyramid party.
Take a moment and think about the nature of punishments as they are handed down to first individuals and then to corporations. I think you'll find that across the western world, punishments to private individuals continue to increase [larger fines, longer prison sentences] whilst the punishments for corporations are becoming weaker and even less effective.
It is common practice to hear politicians [particularly around election time] to start spouting phrases such as "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime", or other similarly empty sound-bites. It is common to see politicians and prosecutors hand down the most egregious punishments to individuals, such as the charges put before Aaron Swartz, for example. [ When Aaron was accused of downloading publicly available academic journals from JSTOR whilst studying at MIT, he was challenged with a $1 Million fine and 35 years in prison...]... Compare the harm between Aaron's actions and those of Home Logic.
The only way to stop companies from abusing laws prohibiting auto-dial systems and un-solicited spam would be simple legislation. For example, un-solicited telephone calls and emails should be met with a simple 3-strikes policy:-
Strike 1 - first offence - take the total compensation value paid to all directors and senior staff of the company in the previous tax year and fine those individuals exactly 35% of the amount they were paid. To determine which individuals are to be included in the fine, bell-curve the salaries paid to every employee of the company and select the top 20% by income.
Strike 2 - second offence - repeat the compensation calculation, but this time increase the penalty to 50% of total income for the top 30% of earners. Additionally, fine the company an amount equal to 30% of pre-tax profits declared in the previous 3 years.
Strike 3 - third offence - immediate, mandatory jail time for the CEO, COO, CFO and all board level directors, for a minimum term of 3 years. Fine the company 60% of pre-tax profits declared in the previous 5 years. Bar every existing director from every holding a directorship again, in any company, for life. Bar every existing director from ever holding public [elected] office, for life.
I guarantee you that if those were the penalties handed down to the companies that repeatedly and flagrantly abuse the laws, that abuse would stop, overnight. The only way to get the attention of these people is to hit them where it hurts.
> Sad that Obama did nothing to help.
Donald, is that you?