|
Cold call crackdown THE South Australian Government has introduced legislation entitling all South Australians to a 10-day cooling-off period on contracts for goods and/or services that result from a trader making unsolicited contact with people via telephone.Amendments to the South Australian Fair Trading Act give people the right to the same cooling off periods that already apply to door to door sales. "The burgeoning telemarketing industry has inevitably led to an increase in consumer complaints about telemarketing practices," Minister for Consumer Affairs, Jennifer Rankine, said. "A great majority of people consider telemarketing calls as unwanted and inconvenient, particularly when they involve lengthy and high-pressure sales tactics. "Due to ever-evolving technology leading to an increase in the availability of personal information in electronic form and the lure of cost cutting for traders, the telemarketing strategy has increased significantly over the past decade. "The amendments put to Parliament are aimed at ensuring that vulnerable people, and those who feel pressured to commit to a sales contract over the phone, will be provided with a cooling-off period which will give them the time to determine whether or not they want to proceed with the contract." Additionally, the Bill only permits certain types of contracts to be entered into verbally over the phone. Failure to comply will not only result in offences being committed by the supplier and the dealer but also to the consumer being able to withdraw the contract up to six months after the commencement date of the contract. The level of concern about telemarketing within community is reflected in the popularity of the Commonwealth Do Not Call Register, which allows people to list their telephone number on the register, thereby excluding them from receiving telemarketing calls. Within four weeks of the register being set-up on May 3, 2007, more than 1,000,000 individual telephone numbers were added. It is now generally unlawful to make calls to those listed numbers. Commonwealth legislation also regulates prescribed calling hours by telemarketers, the disclosure of information by callers and grounds for the termination of a call. "Provisions have been introduced to protect people from agreeing to contracts that aren't in their best interests," Minister Rankine said. "It's a common situation brought about by high-pressure sales tactics often used by door-to-door traders and the customer's lack of opportunity to compare competing products, a similar tactic is being employed by telemarketers." |
About Us | Our Publications | Shopping | Visa Enquiries | Information Days | Links | Advertising | Privacy Policy
© 2005 Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd.