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THE CURRENT CANADIAN TELECOM BILL OF RIGHTS
On August 29th, 2006 the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a public document that restates key consumer rights with respect to local home phone services, in what it hopes is a clear and comprehensible manner The primary focus of the “Bill of Rights” is to eliminate any confusion surrounding the right to local telephone service, the right to choose a phone company,
the right to confidentiality and the right to register a dispute or a complaint Consumers can see the information printed at the beginning of the white pages telephone directory under “Terms of Service”
Background
The initiative to establish a clear document containing consumer rights was launched in 2003 after
it was brought to the CRTC’s attention that the terms of service agreements for most telephone com- panies were often difficult for consumers to comprehend and were not always listed in their entirety in the white pages of most telephone books
Details of Consumer Rights
There were no new rules in this document and therefore no new impact on REALTOR® members or their tele-marketing activities However, with the expected increase in the public’s understanding of their current “rights”, it is important to note of the existing restrictions on telemarketing, which are spelled out in the new document
Telemarketing Rules
Subscribing to an unlisted number service or requesting that consumer information be removed from the lists given out by publishers of telephone directories may not be enough to stop unsolicited telephone calls Other rules do exist to protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing received by means of:
• Automated telephone calls; • Live calls; and
• Facsimiles
Consumers have the right to complain to their phone company, or to the CRTC, if a telemarketer does not comply with any of the following telemarketing rules The telemarketing rules listed below are under review by the CRTC and may be subject to change
Automated Calls
Automated calls make use of equipment that store and dial telephone numbers automatically and can include a pre-recorded message that is played when the phone is answered Automated calls cannot be used for the purpose of solicitation This includes automated calls made on behalf of a charity, calls requesting that you hold until an operator is available, or calls referring you to a 900 or 976 number
8 The National Do-Not-Call List - Information for REALTOR® Members