Opt Out - And The Call Centre Keeps Ringing

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday December 8, 2008

Adele Horin

AUSTRALIANS still receive an average of 8.5 telemarketing calls a month 18 months after the Federal government set up its "Do Not Call" register, a study has found.

Despite their frustrations, many recipients of the calls said they felt sorry for the callers.

And the value of the time wasted on the unsolicited calls is almost $1.6 billion a year.

The study, by The Australia Institute, said a great deal of ill feeling still existed over direct marketing, stemming from the invasion of personal space, the waste of precious time, and "the sheer absurdity and futility" of the practice.

It found that those on the register received fewer calls, seven a month; those not on it received 10 a month. The register appeared to have cut the volume of telemarketing calls by 30 per cent.

But this was still too many calls, said the study's author, Josh Fear. "The current system is not working."

The report, Go Away Please, strongly recommends the Do Not Call Register be changed from the current 'opt out' to an 'opt in' model so that telemarketers could call only those people who had shown willingness to receive calls by opting to put their name on a register.

"Some people experienced a strong physical reaction to the calls. Their heart sank and they felt rotten in the pit of their stomach," Dr Fear said.

"These reactions signify the depth of feeling about telemarketing."

One person reported smashing the phone down so hard while the telemarketer was still on the line that he broke it.

The online survey of 1000 people found that two in three Australians believed telemarketing should be banned.

People used descriptions including "violated", "totally fed up and invaded" and "frustrated and angry" to say how they reacted to the unsolicited calls, usually received around dinner time. Others had mixed feelings because they did not want to be rude to the workers doing a tough job. The study found Australians spent an average of 1.45 minutes on a telemarketing call or 147 minutes a year. Using average weekly ordinary time earnings, Dr Fear calculated the value of the time wasted was $1.58 billion a year.

He said the current Do Not Call system had allowed too many exemptions after strong lobbying from vested interests. Charities, educational and religious organisations, MPs and electoral candidates, registered political parties and government bodies are exempt. Contentiously, businesses such as banks or telecommunication providers are able to market to current customers, claiming "inferred consent."