Consumer watchdog: HRV joins 'don't call' list

Connie Lee is fed up with HRV. Photo / Janna Dixon

A company promoted by Marc Ellis will join a scheme allowing householders to opt out of telemarketing calls after complaints about its sales staff.

HRV will sign up to the Marketing Association's "do not call" list, which means they cannot call people who don't want to hear from them.

The promise emerged after complaints to the Herald on Sunday from mother-of-three Connie Lee, from Auckland's North Shore.

She said HRV cold callers were "aggressive", ignored her requests to be left alone and rang her at least four times a year.

"Every time they call, I ask them to take me off their database. Then they say, 'but you don't even know what I'm calling about' and carry on with their spiel."

Lee, herself a saleswoman, is registered with the Marketing Association's "do not call" list.

But because HRV, which sells home-ventilation systems, is not a member, the company is not bound by the list or the association's code of ethics.

"I always say to them, 'How did you get my number?' and they say I've entered a competition or taken out a loan. But I haven't."

Lee said she talked to neighbours who were being harassed by HRV telemarketers. One older man claimed he'd been called almost every day for a month.

"I hate to think how they might have been bullying and constantly hounding people. It's not fair on people who can't stick up for themselves."

Marketing Association public affairs director Keith Norris said he regularly fielded complaints about HRV's pushy sales calls, but could do little because the company was not a member.

"We've had considerable dealings with HRV. We've recommended they join our organisation and use our 'do not call' list," he said.

There are about 100,000 households on the list.

Norris said people on the "do not call" list noticed a significant decrease in calls, but it wasn't foolproof. Even unlisted phone numbers could be called by companies using automated dialling systems.

"It's a silly thing to call people who don't want to be called. Making them feel harassed is not going to help make a sale."

HRV spokesman John Boyd said the company would join the Marketing Association early next month. Its telemarketers would then be bound by the association's code of practice and "do not call" register.

The code states a telemarketer must accept a "definite refusal". It bans unsolicited calls before 8am, after 9pm and on public holidays.

It also says telemarketers must also declare how long the call is expected to take, if it is likely to exceed three minutes.

Consumer New Zealand adviser Maggie Edwards warned that personal contact details were added to marketing databases almost every time someone entered a competition - and they could be lawfully sold on if this was declared in the fine print. She said there were reports of a sharp increase in offshore companies with automated dialling systems calling New Zealand homes.

"The trick is to let the phone ring a few times. Their systems are set up to call several numbers at the same time and connect to the first person that picks up.

"That's why the phone will sometimes ring a couple of times then stop."

* 90% of Kiwis are concerned businesses can get hold of personal details.

* 86% are concerned about companies using personal information for a purpose different to what it was gathered for.

Source: Privacy Commission survey, 2008