It's a widespread annoyance to have telemarketers calling your home and business, and now it's an annoyance that will soon be experienced through your cell phone.
Cell phone numbers will be going public this month, so for those who wish to avoid telemarketers calling, it's a good idea to put your number on the National Do Not Call (DNCL) list before telemarketers get a hold of your cell phone number. The National DNCL is for personal telephone numbers only, and your home phone, fax, and cell phone can be registered.
Not only is it inconvenient to have telemarketers calling your cell phone, it is also not free. You will be charged for the calls. Calls on behalf of Canadian registered charities, organizations with whom you have done business with in the past 18 months or who you have made an inquiry to in the past 6 months, political parties, candidates, and associations of members of a political party, persons collecting information for a survey of members of the public, newspapers of general circulation for the purpose of soliciting subscriptions, persons or entities to whom you have provided express consent to be called, and calls to businesses are except from the policies regarding the National DNCL.
If a telemarketer calls a number on the National DNCL, violating the National DNCL rules, and a complaint is made, penalties may be imposed. Penalties of $1,500 per violation for individuals and up to $15,000 per violation for corporations can be made.
For more information and to register with the National DNCL, visit www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca.
