Foxtel’s over-eager telemarketing falls foul of regulator
The static version, which appears on the Foxtel website
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has fined Foxtel $25,200 for breaches of the Telemarketing Industry Standard.
Foxtel has been under pressure from its parent News Corp to increase subscriber numbers and revenues. In its investigation, ACMA found the company’s telemarketers had continued pitches after consumers indicated they wanted to terminate the calls.
A recent Foxtel marketing campaign
‘Consumers have the right to end a telemarketing call at any time during the call. It’s unacceptable for a call to continue once someone has indicated they want it to stop,’ said ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin.
A Foxtel spokesperson told Mumbrella: “Foxtel takes its legal obligations very seriously and has strict contractual agreements in place that we feel adequately address the requirements put forth by ACMA.
“We also have a robust compliance and training framework for our staff to ensure they meet the telecoms standards. Unfortunately, a small number of instances occurred, which didn’t meet ACMA’s, or Foxtel’s, standards. We are continuing to review our training processes to remind staff of our responsibilities and to avoid any future instances like these.”
Foxtel has been picked up in ACMA’s crack down on telemarketing, with companies paying out a total of $368,400 from infringement notices following breaches of the standard.
Under the Telemarketing Industry Standard, marketing calls are subject to permitted calling hours, what information should be provided and when calls must be terminated.
“Telemarketers are on notice to listen and respond appropriately to consumers and take their obligations seriously,” added O’Loughlin.
When you are trying to sell a product for three times what it should cost, you are going to need to be aggressive
Murdoch.