[scotty]

Hi,

I've just had a cold call and I am fuming because I signed up to the Telephone Preference System to stop this. Anyway, it made me wonder if there was a similar system in Australia?

Can anyone help with this?

[Cliff]

Yes, you can register at DoNotCall https://www.donotcall.gov.au/. You can register by phoning 1300 792 958 or online. It can take up to 30 days for the calls to stop and you can lodge a complaint online if the calls continue after that. Some organisations are exempt and can continue to phone you e.g. charities, business with which you have an existing relationship and market researchers.

Which numbers can I list on the Do Not Call Register?
You can list your Australian fixed line and mobile numbers on the Do Not Call Register, provided the numbers are used primarily for private or domestic purposes.
How does the register work?
Under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, telemarketers can check their calling lists against the Do Not Call Register. If a telemarketer calls a number on the Do Not Call Register, they may be in breach of the Act, and may face penalties.
Will it stop all telemarketing calls?
Registering your telephone number on the Do Not Call Register will not stop all telemarketing calls to your number. Some organisations operating in the public interest are exempt from prohibition on making telemarketing calls. You can also still receive calls from market researchers.
Have I consented to receive calls?
You may give your consent expressly, for example, by ticking a box on a form agreeing to receive calls, or it may be inferred by a business if you have an existing relationship with the business. Even if a business has your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time by asking the business not to contact you again.
When will calls start to reduce?
From the time you register your number, it may take up to 30 days for individual telemarketing agencies to recognise your registration, and stop calling to your number.
Why has the Do Not Call Register been set up?
The Do Not Call Register has been set up in response to increasing community concern about the growth in unsolicited telemarketing calls.

[Thongs of Praise]

I gave my opinion a day or two ago that dodo, an internet service provider, are best avoided.

http://www.livingin-australia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74

They were actually fined $147,000 last year for making unsolicited calls.

Dodo's Philippines call centre cops fine

ISP Dodo Australia has been slapped with the heftiest fine ever dished out as part of the Do Not Call Register Act: a $147,000 penalty for making unsolicited calls to Australian consumers.

The Do Not Call Register, introduced by the Howard Government, enables Australian residents and households to register their personal numbers on a list enshrined by law as a no-go zone for telemarketers.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Dodo-s-Philippines-call-centre-cops-fine/0,130061791,339292783,00.htm

[scotty]

Thanks Cliff and Thongs for your help - much relieved!!

[Thongs of Praise]

What I don't understand is why phone call spammers don't end up in prison - same as email spammers.

99.9% of email spam gets filtered. What's left gets dealt with by a couple of mouse clicks. No disturbance involved. No need to stop whatever else you were doing. But people who've sent the stuff can end up in prison.

I'd say phone spam is worse than email spam because it disturbs you. It makes you stop whatever you're doing to answer the call. I remember all too many phone calls in the UK interrupting our meals. So I'd put phone spammers in prison along with the email spammers.

[scotty]

A few months ago, we went through a spell of getting loads of ' help you out of debt' calls - not that we were in debt. It was terrible - one or two a day- and I couldn't even use 1471 to find out who they were.

Thankfully thay have stopped now but it was upsetting and annoying at the time.

[platypus]

I saw this device (http://www.truecall.co.uk/)on Dragon's Den a few days ago. It was impressive and every dragon wanted to invest in it. It's available in the UK now for £97.50. I don't know if it would work in Australia. According to the blurb it:

Stops telesales calls
Stops malicious calls
Stops silent calls
Stops robocalls
Stops fax spam
Stops market research calls
Works alongside Telephone Preference Service

There's a write up from the BBC here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7682111.stm).

Robo-calls

Some 60% of UK households are signed up to the Telephone Preference Service, set up to reduce the number of nuisance calls received.

But telemarketers are finding new ways of getting around the service with so-called robo-calls which use automated system to deliver millions of pre-recorded messages.

Most silent calls are caused by such systems and it is estimated that the public receive 1.5 billion silent calls per year.

"We welcome anything the industry does on its own initiative to reduce the problem of silent, abandoned or malicious calls," said a spokeswoman for Ofcom.

[scotty]

Pricey, but a wonderful idea!:D

[austin]

Thanks, I didn't know donotcall even existed. I have had a spate of sales calls recently - annoying.

[PamInPerth]

We've signed up to donotcall and it does make a BIG difference. You can also make a complaint (online) if the calls continue once you have been on the register for more than a month.

[Cliff]

..... for ignoring the Do Not Call register. Maybe we'll all get some peace now.

TELSTRA has been fined more than $100,000 by the communications watchdog after people on the Do Not Call register continued to receive Telstra telemarketing calls even after the telco was alerted to the problem.

[Gabriella8]

I'm glad this topic has been posted in this forum. I will definitely register our landline in the donotcall website. Thanks :)

[Martha]

Yes, it does work well. What a relief to stop having all those phone companies wanting you to change over. It's just a memory now, thanks to the government's intervention. They must of been sick of it too, to act so effectively. The 'do not call register' is a must have when connected to a landline in Oz.

[PhillipaW]

The donotcall register is a real good system and since signing up for it we haven't received any telemarketing calls.
It's so awesome!

[Gabriella8]

Thanks for posting the link! I registered our numbers in the website 3weeks ago and since then I haven't received any nuisance callers :) I shared the link will all my friends here and they are very happy with the result.

[Martha]

I have this service too as soon as I was told about it, I also told my mother and she told her firends etc. It works effectively and for no cost. We in Oz value our privacy and right to not be annoyed by sales people.

[heather]

What's a real pain in the UK are robo calls - there is not even a real person at the other end of the phone line when you pick it up. Just an automated message (usually about how to get yourself out of debt) and to "press 1 now" to speak to someone. Very annoying.

Are there 'robo' calls in Australia?

[Martha]

What's a real pain in the UK are robo calls - there is not even a real person at the other end of the phone line when you pick it up. Just an automated message (usually about how to get yourself out of debt) and to "press 1 now" to speak to someone. Very annoying.

Are there 'robo' calls in Australia?

Not like that! The nerve of them to not even have a real person on the call after they called you! I wonder does anybody really respond to a call like that positively. I don't see a future in Oz for robo calls - not in sales at least.

[Heidi]

What's a real pain in the UK are robo calls - there is not even a real person at the other end of the phone line when you pick it up. Just an automated message (usually about how to get yourself out of debt) and to "press 1 now" to speak to someone. Very annoying.

Are there 'robo' calls in Australia?

Can't see that kind of sales technique doing well in Aus.

[Gabriella8]

There are already 'robo calls' in Australia, unfortunately. When I was still using Virgin mobile last year, I received 2 'robo calls' about their latest promotion...