Canadian companies must follow do not call list

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Posted by Bob3 (205.174.22.20) on February 19, 2004 at 00:09:17:

In Reply to: Re: triadvantage/omega corp in canada/must be call day posted by catballou on February 18, 2004 at 23:19:58:

C B C . C A N e w s - F u l l S t o r y :
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U.S. 'do-not-call' list has no borders
Last Updated Fri Jul 4 19:57:50 2003
WINNIPEG-- Canadian telemarketing companies that call phone numbers registered with the U.S. "do-not-call" list will be fined, according to American regulators.

Starting in September, telemarketers will have to check the registry every 90 days and scrub registered numbers from their lists. A month later, any company caught calling people on the list will be fined $11,000 US per call.

"Regardless of where the telemarketers are located, provided they have called consumers in the U.S., they have the rule and we can go after them," said Katy Harrington-McBridge, an attorney for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Telemarketing companies in Winnipeg say this will cripple their businesses.

FROM July 3, 2003: Americans call in to 'do-not-call' registry

Robert Warren, head of the Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship in Manitoba says the registry will hurt Canadian companies that sell to the States.
First, the companies will have to shell out money for computer software that will block telemarketers from calling a number on the list, Warren said.

"The second thing it's going to do is make it much tougher for them to generate revenue from their calls," Warren said.

About 17 million phone numbers are registered with the "do-not-call" list, and American telemarketers have started laying off workers.

Canadians cannot sign up for the American registry. But consumers can add their names free-of-charge to the Canadian Marketing Association's "do-not-contact" list.

The Canadian list is not run by the government, and not all marketers belong to the CMA. Also, the association does not have the legal means to fine companies that continue to call phone numbers on the list.

Written by CBC News Online staff

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