Ensuring OFCOM Compliance: Essential Checks for Your Call Centre

In this article, we are going to indicate the recommendations that must be followed to maintain a call centre by the regulations of Ofcom, the regulatory body for communications in the United Kingdom. 

The recommendations are as follows:

1. Register the call centre with Ofcom and obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for outgoing calls.

2. Make sure that the call centre has a privacy and data protection policy that complies with current legislation and that customers and potential customers are informed of their rights and obligations in this regard.

3. Do not make calls to numbers registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS), except with the express consent of the number holder or in the case of a prior contractual relationship.

4. Do not make calls for direct marketing purposes to numbers that have expressly requested not to receive this type of communication or that have expressed their opposition to processing their data for said purpose.

5. Do not make calls for direct marketing purposes outside the hours allowed by the regulations, which are from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

6. Do not make more than three call attempts to the same number in 24 hours, unless contact has been established with the recipient or the recipient has requested a new call.

7. Do not make abandoned or silent calls, that is, those in which you hang up before the recipient answers or without playing any recorded message.

8. In the case of making calls with recorded messages, make sure that these meet the requirements established by Ofcom, such as clearly identifying the person responsible for the call, the purpose of the call and a toll-free number that the recipient can call to request not receive more communications.

9. Do not hide or falsify the number from which the call is made, but show a valid and operational number to which the recipient can return the call if they wish.

10. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems without the prior consent of the recipient or without previously verifying whether the number belongs to a natural or legal person and whether it is registered in the TPS or CTPS.

11. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems that may cause inconvenience, inconvenience or anxiety to recipients or that may saturate telephone networks.

12. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems that may generate additional costs for recipients, such as special rate numbers or premium services.

13. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems that may violate the security or confidentiality of recipients' personal data or that may mislead or deceive the identity or intention of the person responsible for the call.

14. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems that may infringe third parties' intellectual or industrial property rights, such as registered trademarks or trade names.

15. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems that may contravene ethical or deontological standards applicable to the sector to which the call centre belongs or to the type of service it offers.

16. Do not use automatic dialling or number generation systems that may breach any other current legal or regulatory provision in the field of telecommunications, consumer protection, competition, advertising or others.

By following these recommendations, your call centre can remain Ofcom compliant and avoid any penalties or legal action. It is important to regularly review your call centre's processes and procedures to ensure that they remain compliant with Ofcom regulations.