OFCOM GUIDELINES ON NUISANCE CALLING

Transcription

1 ULTRA COMMUNICATIONS OFCOM GUIDELINES ON NUISANCE CALLING (0)

2 Contents 1. BACKGROUND WHAT POWERS DOES OFCOM HAVE TO TACKLE SILENT OR ABANDONED CALLS? WHAT APPROACH IS OFCOM TAKING TO COMBAT SILENT OR ABANDONED CALLS? 4 4. WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES FOR CONTACT CENTRES USING DIALLERS? ULTRA COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTIONALITY FOR CLIENTS SUMMARY... 7 Confidentiality Statement All information contained in this document is provided in confidence, and shall not be published or disclosed wholly or in part to any other party without Ultra Communications Limited s prior written authority and consent, and therefore this document should be held in safe custody. These obligations shall not apply to any information contained in this document that is published or becomes known legitimately from some source other than Ultra Communications Limited. Copyright 2014 Ultra Communications Limited Author Date Version CHARLOTTE MORRIS 19/02/ CHARLOTTE MORRIS 29/04/13 2 CHARLOTTE MORRIS 27/06/13 3 Registered in England, No Tel: +44 (0)

3 1. BACKGROUND In an attempt to reduce nuisance calling and specifically the number of silent and abandoned calls, Ofcom have produced several consultation papers. These have been issued to prevent consumers from being harassed by repeat silent and abandoned calls. Guidelines set out in the Revised Statement of Policy on the Persistent Misuse of an Electronic Communications Network or Service 2010 make clear the steps companies need to take to avoid making silent and abandoned calls as far as possible, and if they are made, to limit harm to consumers. This statement of policy is readily obtainable from the Ofcom website: or please ask your account manager for a copy. Below is a summary of the main important information which could affect your business, detailing what the current legislation is and how Ultra is committed to helping their clients fully comply with all the relevant requirements. 2. WHAT POWERS DOES OFCOM HAVE TO TACKLE SILENT OR ABANDONED CALLS? Under sections 128 to 130 of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom can take enforcement action when there is reasonable ground for believing that a person (either an individual or a legal entity) has persistently misused an electronic communications network or service i.e. in such a way that causes annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety to another person. The Communication Act 2003 details the maximum fine Ofcom can impose on a perpetrator of silent or abandoned calls. The Act was strengthened by the Statement of Policy on Persistent Misuse of an Electronic Communications Network or Service 2010 which now allows Ofcom to fine companies a maximum of 2,000,000. As of January 2013, Ofcom has fined a total of nine companies for making persistent silent and abandoned calls, one of which received the previous maximum penalty of 50,000 and another receiving 750,000, the largest fine Ofcom has issued. Ofcom can revise the statement as and when it sees fit to match with current industry needs. For this reason Ultra is constantly vigilant for any changes that may affect its clients. Registered in England, No Tel: +44 (0)

4 3. WHAT APPROACH IS OFCOM TAKING TO COMBAT SILENT OR ABANDONED CALLS? Within Ofcom s Revised Statement of Policy on Persistent Misuse of an Electronics Communications Network or Service 2008, they specifically identified what constitutes as a silent or an abandoned call: An abandoned call is where a connection is established but terminated by the caller even though the call has been answered by a consumer. Our (Ofcom) policy is that these calls should play an information message to inform the consumer who made the call. A silent call is a type of abandoned call where the consumer hears nothing on answering the phone and has no means of establishing whether anyone is at the other end. Any type of silent call is almost certain to cause inconvenience and is likely to cause annoyance to the customer. On January 8th 2013, Ofcom further announced an action plan to tackle what it saw as the growing problem of nuisance calls. The plan contains 5 key action areas Ofcom will target: 1. New Research Commissioning new research to create a clearer picture of the problems customers experience in relation to silent and abandoned calls. 2. Tracing those behind nuisance calls Ofcom will work closely with the industry to identify ways to trace companies behind nuisance calls and look for ways to prevent such calls. 3. Improving compliance Ofcom alongside the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) will be writing to businesses advising them of the rules relating to silent and abandoned calls and the penalties that are in place. 4. Coordinated action Ofcom will be working alongside other regulatory bodies to help tackle the wider issue of nuisance calls (including the ICO and the Government) 5. Enforcement action Firm and decisive enforcement action will be taken, where appropriate, to ensure compliance with its rules. Ofcom believes that compliance with their requirements will significantly reduce the potential for consumers to receive silent or abandoned calls. Registered in England, No Tel: +44 (0)

5 4. WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES FOR CONTACT CENTRES USING DIALLERS? Ofcom rules provide a consistent and enforceable framework for the responsible use of Automated Calling Systems (ACS) and Answer Machine Detection (AMD) technology. Ofcom s policy aims to significantly reduce the total number of calls abandoned by contact centres and to ensure that consumers can clearly identify the source of any abandoned call that they receive. The guidelines include: Abandoned call rate Ensuring an abandoned call rate of no more than 3 per cent of live calls per campaign or per contact centre over a 24 hour period (between midnight and midnight on a calendar day); Abandoned call message In the event of an abandoned call, an automated message should be played within either 2 seconds after the telephone has been picked up or, 2 seconds after the customer has started their salutation. This message should provide the customer with: o The identity of the organisation on whose behalf the call was made; o Details of a no charge (0800) or Special Services basic rate (0844) number the called customer can dial to stop any future marketing calls from that organisation; and o Include no marketing content; 72 hour rule Ensuring that consumers are not contacted within 72 hours of their receiving an abandoned call without the guaranteed presence of a live operator; 15 seconds ring time Calls must ring for a minimum 15 seconds before being terminated; CLI Presentation Making valid and accurate calling-line identification (CLI) information available to call recipients so they can identify who rang them via caller display or by dialling 1471 in the event of a silent call, which if returned is not charged at a higher rate than the national call rate; 24 hour rule (AMD) Ensuring that where a call has been identified by AMD equipment as being picked up by an answer machine, any repeat calls to that specific number within the same 24 hour period are only made with the guaranteed presence of a live operator; Returned call protocol Any call made by the called customer to the return number provided shall not be used as an opportunity to market or sell to that person, without that person s consent; and Registered in England, No Tel: +44 (0)

6 Record retention Records are kept for a minimum period of six months that demonstrate compliance with the above procedures. Ofcom does not list calling times as one of its guidelines however the principles of Ofcom are not to cause a nuisance. There is some guidance from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) provided to its memberrs which includes requirements on reasonable dialling times. DMA members must not make sales, marketing or service calls during hours that are unreasonable to the person being called. In general, members should not make calls between the hours of: 9pm and 8am Monday to Friday, and 9pm and 9am at weekends, unless an express invitation to do so is received. Members must also be aware that many consumers might consider it unreasonable to be called on a Sunday or on national/religious holidays. Most people will use the DMA calling hours as a guide to prevent nuisance calling. 5. ULTRA COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTIONALITY FOR CLIENTS Ultra has the following functionality available to its clients to keep them fully Ofcom and DMA complaint CLI presentation is available per campaign and per record, with the ability to leave a range of numbers dependant on client requirements and with easy phone in access to change the information message, required by Ofcom, at any time. No charge (0800) or Special Service Basic rate (0844) numbers are available for Ultra clients as per their requirements. Ultra can also set up 0871, 0844 or any other number requested. Dropped call messages are left after any abandoned call whether it was made by the dialler or an agent, as per the Ofcom regulations. This can again be a different message per campaign, allowing Ultra clients to give a more personal and tailor-made impression to their own customer s. Abandon rate Ultra set their client dialler settings to a default 3%, guaranteeing they never go outside the Ofcom guidelines. Clients are however able to change this to their own desired level, making them exceptionally confident they are not near the threshold. Registered in England, No Tel: +44 (0)

7 72 hour setting All abandoned calls are automatically rescheduled so that they are not called within the 72 hours period. However, Ultra does have the facility to automatically call those records on a one for one basis within the 72 hour period should clients require. Any client wanting to go outside the Ofcom guidelines will need to advise Ultra why they wish to and this could be where they are not doing a marketing campaign and therefore do not come under the Ofcom/DMA rulings. However Ultra would still edge on the side of caution that the guidelines are good to adhere to. 6. SUMMARY Ultra work with its clients to ensure the above functionally is provided and completed, and thereby making clients fully compliant with the Ofcom requirements. In summary of the requirements The abandon call rate will be set to a default of 3% of live calls on each individual campaign or per contact centre, over a 24 hour period; A abandon message will be automatically played in the event of an abandoned call within 2 seconds of the calling being answered. Ultra provide clients various formats to complete this and work with clients to fully understand the process. Calls placed by the Ultra dialler ring for a minimum 15 seconds before being terminated and indeed are rung for 18 seconds as a default as the best time calculated by Ultra to optimise client contact rate; Automated calls to a previously abandoned call will not occur until 72 hours have elapsed or there is a guaranteed agent available to take the call; Calling-line identification (CLI) information is presented on all calls, to which a return call may be made. A default number is allocated to clients until they have set-up or advised Ultra of their own number to present; Records are kept for a minimum period of six months that demonstrate compliance with the above procedures. Ultra Communications work closely with its clients to ensure that they achieve the necessary adherence to the guidelines and are happy to help any client any time they wish to set up new campaigns or centres to make them compliant. Registered in England, No Tel: +44 (0)