The Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) again asked the Indecopi to act proactively and take severe measures to curb and punish Business who have intensified their nuisance calls to consumers even though it is legally prohibited and consequently they should no longer do so.
ASPEC recalled that on September 4, 2018 Legislative Decree No. 1390 was issued that modified, among others, art. 58.1 of the Consumer Protection and Defense Code so that the use of call centers, telephone call systems, sending text messages to cell phones or mass electronic messages to promote products and services, and provide the telemarketing service, to all those telephone numbers and electronic addresses of consumers who have not given the suppliers of said goods and services their prior, informed, express and unequivocal consent for the use of this commercial practice.
However, this measure that sought to protect the population against aggressive or deceptive commercial methods that threaten the consumer’s freedom of choice through figures such as harassment, coercion, undue influence or fraud, continues to be violated every day and with total self-confidence by the companies.
ASPEC reported that, during the state of health emergency, claims for invasive advertising multiplied because a high percentage of consumers remain at home and can no longer be reached by advertising at points of sale. For this reason, since everyone has telephones at hand, companies have chosen to hire call centers and instant messaging services to reach them.
According to ASPEC there are certain minimum rules that providers should respect but are violated on a daily basis:
1. The caller must identify himself, as well as the company on whose behalf he is making the call;
2. The consumer must be asked for permission to deliver the message; and
3. If the consumer’s answer is negative, two events must happen:
– The communication is terminated; and
– The name and telephone number of the consumer is deleted from the company’s database so as not to bother him anymore.
Therefore, ASPEC once again asked INDECOPI to enforce the law and, for that purpose, carry out a more intense and expeditious inspection in relation to this type of claims and urged it to, ex officio, initiate sanctioning procedures that culminate in severe penalties. “Due to the pandemic, people are already too distraught and anxious and have even lost their jobs. It is not fair that some companies add an additional burden to their backs ”, stated Crisologo Cáceres, President of ASPEC.
Finally, while we wait for INDECOPI to act, ASPEC recommends the following to consumers whose privacy continues to be violated:
– Report the offending communication to INDECOPI attaching a photo of the screen with the number of the call that is registered on the phone;
– If you gave your consent to receive calls or messages from providers, this decision can be revoked at any time; and
– The consumer has the right to claim even if he is not sure of having authorized such practices. The official who receives the claim will transfer it to the supplier, who will have to prove in a simple way that he had the prior consent of the client.
KEEP READING: