Can we trust the DMA?

A

ambo

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The Direct Marketing Association claims to run opt-in and opt-out registries to "regulate and protect the industry" but I'm not sure that this is really happening.

I got a phone call yesterday from Clientele Life where they wanted to sell me some kind of life insurance product. When I invoked section 45 of the ECT act and requested that disclose where they obtained my details the lady on the line said she got it from the DMA.

I know for a fact that I have never opt'ed in and they better not be contacting me if I opt'ed out.

So does this now mean that the DMA is in the market of reselling and redistributing contact databases that they get from 3rd parties?
 
ambo said:
The Direct Marketing Association claims to run opt-in and opt-out registries to "regulate and protect the industry" but I'm not sure that this is really happening.

I got a phone call yesterday from Clientele Life where they wanted to sell me some kind of life insurance product. When I invoked section 45 of the ECT act and requested that disclose where they obtained my details the lady on the line said she got it from the DMA.

I know for a fact that I have never opt'ed in and they better not be contacting me if I opt'ed out.

So does this now mean that the DMA is in the market of reselling and redistributing contact databases that they get from 3rd parties?
Click to expand...

That person who called you is probably lying, they lie about a lot of stuff, like what their products cover and do. Ask them if they are DMA members, if they say yes (and you have registered on the opt out register) say you will report them, they will not contact you again.

Since I have signed up I have only had marketing calls from companies I am in some kind of relationship with, no more "this is CellC and we have a super duper contract for you" stuff.

Once I did get cold called from a company that had called me a lot before I had registered, just that question of are they DMA members and why they are calling a opt out registered person, they said sorry and I havent heard from them again. Should have taken their company name and reported them anyway. :(
 
I think the DMA is a voluntary association that is enforced by some service providers on their resellers etc but it isn't enforced by law as far as I understand it.
 
I've been registered on their opt-out list for a couple of years now and since registering the amount of pestering sales phone calls I have received has dropped to 1 every 2 months or so, down from about 2 a week.
 
I have registered with the DMA and get a call maybe every 3 months.

I get their details and immediately report the caller to the DMA. The more I report, the less calls I get.
 
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