The telemarketing industry has slammed proposals to extend the Do Not Call Register to businesses, warning that ill-thought out policy could lead to large swathes of the business community as well as government departments blocked from receiving sales pitches via the phone.
Under the proposals put forward by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy emergency services, businesses and government departments can elect to have their landline and mobile phone numbers put on the DNCR.
Under the current definition of telemarketing, that would mean any call from a cold sales call to an enquiry about a possible new business lead would be barred.
But what is worrying the telemarketing industry the most is the potential confusion around who gives consent to put a company’s number on the list, whether that number will include the switchboard - thereby effectively locking out the entire organisation - and how that is managed.
The Australian Direct Marketing Association said in its current state the bill is ‘‘unbalanced’’ and will only hurt businesses, in particular small companies that don’t have the resources to check the register every time they make a call. Failure to check can result in a maximum $1.1 million fine for every day they are in breach.
ADMA CEO Rob Edwards said: ‘‘Every business person will have to check the register every time they want to make a business call ... unless they have consent. This checking would have to be done day in day out at a significant cost to business.’’
Access Economics estimates business to business calls make up a fifth of all telemarketing calls, meaning that anywhere between 30 and 80 million calls would have to washed through the register before they are dialled out.
The full cost of implementing the scheme is due to be tabled in ADMA’s submission next month but in its prelimanry findings Access concludes: ‘‘Perhaps the largest impact on economic efficiency will flow through the effect on competition and innovation in the marketplace.’’
The marketing industry supports the idea of blocking emergency numbers from telemarketers or nuisance faxes, which was one of the reasons why Senator Conroy wants to extend the service from households to business.
Local listings service TrueLocal says the legislation will reduce competition, disadvantage new entrants, increase compliance costs and overall hamper the ability of small businesses to get new products to market.
A spokeswoman for TrueLocal’s owner, News Digital Media Kate McQuestin said: ‘‘We’ve got concerns about the implementation of the policy and lack of consideration for the compliance costs and how it will work. For example, if Qantas marketing manager puts themself on the list will this request apply to just them, the entire Qantas marketing department or all personnel at Qantas?,’’ she said.
Last month the Council of Small Business and TrueLocal found in a survey of 781 small businesses that 78 per cent said they did not have the resources to check the register and 45 per cent saying it would put a financial strain on their business; 22 per cent - or roughly 286,000 new businesses - said they got new business from making phone calls.
A Senate committee is due to hear the bill in the first week of February.
jlee@smh.com.au
SMH
