Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) is again in the sights of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), after complaints showed the company’s dealers have been ignoring the Do Not Call Register.
The ACMA said it’s received a number of complaints about wayward VHA dealers who’ve ignored the Do Not Call Register to telemarket Vodafone and 3 Mobile products.
As a result, VHA has been ordered to audit and report back to the ACMA on all its dealers’ telemarketing activities.
“If it finds any of its dealers potentially breaching the Do Not Call Register Act [of 2006], it must report the dealer to the ACMA immediately,” ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said.
Under the enforceable undertaking, VHA has also committed to:
- Require all its subsidiaries and dealers to keep comprehensive records of the telemarketing calls made; and
- Implement robust procedures around recording VHA’s customers’ consent to be called by, or requests to opt out of receiving, telemarketing calls from VHA, its subsidiaries or any dealer.
If the business doesn’t meet these obligations, the undertaking could be enforced by the Federal Court.
The latest action comes just weeks after the ACMA warned Vodafone for not adequately protecting its customer’s privacy. An investigation found it had:
- failed to classify and analyse complaints as required by the TCP Code
- failed to provide timely customer information about network performance issues in late 2010
- poor systems in place for protecting the privacy of customers’ personal details prior to January 2011.
Any additional breaches of this nature could see Vodafone fined up to $250,000, the ACMA said.
