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Company Ordered to Pay Monetary Penalty for Violating Do Not Call List
A company entitled, Direct to Home Groceries, has been ordered to pay a $10,000 administrative monetary penalty as a result of having been found in violation of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules (also known as the ”Do Not Call List”). The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) found Direct to Home Groceries to have violated the Do Not Call List because they contacted consumers who were registered with the Do Not Call List and in addition, they engaged in telemarketing telecommunications without being registered subscribers or having paid all applicable fees to the National Do Not Call List operator.
Direct to Home Groceries argued that they were not aware they had contacted these consumers as the communication had occurred as a result of a computer glitch. Direct to Home Groceries also submitted that if they had to pay the $10,000, they would be at risk of going out of business.
The CRTC reasoned that the issue of a computer glitch was only relevant if they could establish a proper due diligence defence. In this particular instance, the claim of a computer glitch was not sufficient to establish a defence of due diligence because Direct to Home Groceries had not established that they took all reasonable steps to demonstrate the proper due diligence for avoiding liability. With regards to the monetary penalty, the CRTC held “that the financial health of a corporation is not a factor in determining whether to impose or reduce a penalty contained in a notice of a violation.” The CRTC ordered the full penalty to be paid.
For additional information, visit:
https://service.clearservice.com/itcan/campaignimages/1/www/newsletters/051911.pdf