How to stop telemarketing calls

Get telemarketers off your phone line and enjoy dinnertime uninterrupted by registering your telephone number on Canada's national do-not-call list.

Updated:: 2009-10-04 22:13

Published:: 2008-09-17 00:00

By: Aileen Brabazon

How to avoid other unsolicited calls

How to stop exempt callers from calling you
If you'd rather not be contacted by a company that's on exempt list, simply tell the caller so. "Ask them not to call you again and they are obligated under the rules (established by the CRTC and parliament) to put your name on their own do-not-call list for a period of three years," say Webster Cole.

As well, you can avoid unsolicited calls by withholding your telephone number when you do things like shop, make charitable donations or fill out ballots. "People can call if you've given them consent," Webster Cole says. If providing your number is necessary, then request that they don't contact you in the future.

How to file a complaint
If telemarketers call past the initial 31-day grace period, you can make a complaint, according to the CRTC. To do so, keep the telemarketer on the line to get their name and number (they're obligated to give you this information, according to the CRTC's rules), which you need to supply when filing your grievance, says Webster Cole. Then call the registration number or visit the website to report the call within 14 days of being contacted. "We will investigate the complaint and endeavour to ensure that the telemarketers follow the rules," she says.

The 411 on the operator
According to Webster Cole, Bell Canada has a contract to run the list on behalf of the CRTC for five years. The phone company oversees the list, but you don't need to be a Bell subscriber to be on the national DNCL. As a third-party operator, Bell Canada's job is to register consumer numbers, receive complaints and provide telemarketers with up-to-date inforomation, reports the CRTC.

When their contract ends, and if all has gone well, Bell Canada may be asked to remain operator. But no matter what happens, Webster Cole believes the national DNCL will continue on in the future.

Once you're on the national DNCL and on other do-not-call lists of your choosing, being bombarded by unsolicited calls should be an experience of the past.

Feeling empowered now that you've shaken pesky telemarketers? Keep it up! Get what you want anytime, anywhere.

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