OTTAWA - The CRTC has dealt out its first round of fines to telemarketers for violating the national do-not-call registry, pegging two unnamed companies.
The regulator said Wednesday that both firms have 30 days to pay fines or contest the charges. As long as they don't dispute the fines, they will remain anonymous under the regulator's general policy.
The do-not-call list is a free service that allows people to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls and faxes they receive on their home phones and cellphones.
Once a number is on the list, telemarketers aren't allowed to call it, or they'll face fines. If a registered household files a complaint, the maximum fine is $1,500 for individual telemarketers and $15,000 for companies.
As many as 700 other telemarkets are under some stage of investigation related to the do-not-call list, said Leonard Katz, the CRTC's vice-chairman of telecommunications.
"These are people we're actively working with, and in the process of looking at by virtue of the fact that there have been repeated and ongoing complaints," he said.
However, the 700 investigations likely won't lead to nearly as many fines because the CRTC is trying to educate the companies before sending out a formalized warning in a letter.
In the first two instances, the unnamed companies have ignored those warnings and continued to violate the regulations, Katz said. It hasn't been determined how much the companies will pay if they agree to the fine.
The do-not-call service launched in September 2008, and proved to be so popular that it crashed the registration website and tied up the phone lines.
As of June 1, the list has signed up about 6.9 million Canadian phone numbers to opt out of telemarketing calls.
Since then, the list has come under some scrutiny by the Consumers Association of Canada, which says scam artists have purchased the registry lists and used them as a resource.
The CRTC sells the regionalized do-not-call lists for low prices, like $50 for Toronto, with the intention of providing telemarketers with a resource for who they aren't allowed to call.
Katz said that while there have been allegations that the do-not-call database is being used for criminal purposes, the CRTC has never found any proof that the lists are being purchased by anybody but registered telemarketers.
"We've got a good handle as to who's buying the list," he said.
The do-not-call list doesn't cover all calls that might be considered invasive. Political parties, domestically registered charities and newspapers can all still call to campaign or sell their services.
Businesses are also allowed to call their customers for 18 months after a transaction.
Numbers can be registered at any time by visiting www.dncl.gc.ca or by telephone at 1-866-580-3625.
