For the second time in a month, the CRTC has imposed a penalty against a foreign telemarketer.
In the most recent case, an administrative monetary penalty of $145,000 was issued against Arizona-based Rainmaker Marketing/Maple Accounting for making unsolicited telemarketing calls pitching lower credit card rates.
The calls violated the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules by making unsolicited telemarketing calls Canadians whose numbers were registered on the National Do Not Call List. In addition, the company did not display its originating telephone number, nor provide a local or toll-free number where it could be reached. Finally, the company failed to register with and subscribe to the National Do Not Call List before making the calls in question.
As was the case with the $200,000 fine levied earlier this month against a US-based telemarker, the CRTC worked again with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, an organization jointly managed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Competition Bureau and the Ontario Provincial Police. However, unlike that earlier case, the FTC has apparently not yet issued its own decision on the case.
This most recent decision further demonstrates that foreign-based telemarketers are equally subject to Canadian telemarketing rules, and may be held to account for non-compliance.
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