MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Telemarketing companies in Brazil banned for being too bold

Brazil's Federal National Consumer Secretariat ( ) has suspended 180 companies for their molesting telemarketing practices harassing would-be consumers unrestrictedly, it was reported Monday.

The agency, which reports to the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety (MJSP) explained the suspension was permanent.

The initiative seeks to combat unsolicited calls to offer products or services. According to the Senacon, most companies use data about people obtained illegally.

The ban applies as of July 18 to telemarketing companies operating at national, state, and municipal levels.

The measure was taken after more than 14,000 complaints were registered in three years in the National Information System of Consumer Protection (Sindec) and through the consumidor.gov.br website, the MJSP explained.

“An elderly man claimed to have received more than 3,000 telemarketing calls on the five phone numbers he had,” the ministry MJSP pointed out in a statement.

The suspension does not apply to passive telemarketing, in which the customer calls the company, nor to requests for donations, and calls expressly authorized by consumers.

According to the Senacon, there is evidence that the companies responsible for unauthorized approaches have committed the crime of illegal trade of personal data.
If any of the 180 affected companies does not comply with the decision to suspend their activities, a daily fine of R$ 1,000 (US$ 184) is to be applied up to R$ 13 million (US$ 2,390,541.40).

The agency also said consumers will soon have a direct communication channel to report companies that continue to make abusive telemarketing calls, even after this measure has been taken.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)