Baptiste Morin, edited by Gauthier Delomez
From this Wednesday, March 1, commercial canvassing by telephone can no longer take place on weekends and public holidays, and the hours will be regulated from Monday to Friday. Not enough, however, to curb the number of unwanted phone calls, according to consumer associations.
Will this March 1, 2023 sign the end of cold calling? From Wednesday, this practice will only be authorized from Monday to Friday, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. In reality, direct sellers will be prohibited from calling during these time slots, and also on weekends and public holidays. Finally, they will no longer be able to canvass the same person more than four times in 30 days. However, the rest of the time, they can continue their activity.
A new “very modest” step, mocks the UFC Que-Choisir
This does not satisfy consumer associations. “We hope that once and for all, the government will ban canvassing authorized by default for consumers, but unfortunately, it is obviously not its will”, tackle at the microphone of Europe 1 Matthieu Robin, deputy head of studies at UFC Que-Choisir. For him, the government “is moving forward in very small steps, and today, this impact is very modest since once once more, (this change) will only ratify” what already exists.
In the event of non-compliance with these new rules, direct sellers risk a fine of 75,000 euros. But here too, consumer associations denounce a lack of control of their practices. Similarly, there is a platform for registering and asking not to be canvassed (Bloctel), but many subscribers continue to be called.
