By Nicola Mawson

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is sitting up and taking notice of the fact that South Africans are being inundated with spam calls.

It’s asking for public comment on changing regulation four of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) by January 15.

This section deals with “mechanisms to block unwanted direct marketing communication”. Basically, it suggests something that has been on the cards since 2010 when the Act was promulgated – an opt-out register.

The amendments would result in marketers having to register on this database each year, as well as not market any goods or services to someone who has opted out by way of this register.

Yippee.

I’d like to know who will be policing this, as current laws don’t seem to be enforced.

I’ve had a flurry of spam calls lately, as have many others, based on conversations and the department's admission of this issue.

People who want to sell me insurance, offer me loans, or, conversely help improve my credit score (which is fine, thank you very much).

I used to just let the phone ring and then use Truecaller (thank goodness for that innovation) to block the numbers.

Recently, I’ve taken to answering the calls and asking where they got my details (this is after telling some monotone robot I’d like a call back by pushing button one).

Inevitably, I’m told I’m on their database. Nice. My next question is always how I got there. To this, I always receive some vague answer and a promise they will take me off that list.

The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa has been doing government’s work for it for years.

But this is a voluntary association and requires that companies register and actually check the database. It’s funded through its members and its only real recourse of action is to ban members.

That penalty amounts to brand damage. So do the repeated robot calls.

The fact that these calls have increased since the promulgation and implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is a very sad indictment on a government that should have ensured that the Information Regulator is properly staffed and sufficiently funded.

To my mind, it’s a very simple equation. If lists of names and numbers weren’t being sold in flagrant disregard of the law, POPIA in particular, such calls would be stopped right there. In fact, many moons ago, I wrote about how this Act would stop spam calls. I was wrong, clearly.

So were the analysts and lawyers I interviewed.

POPIA is meant to prevent list selling. And an infringement of that piece of legislation carries with it serious fines. For serious offences, the Information Regulator can issue fines of up to R10 million and up to 12 months imprisonment.

While there is the option of a reduced fine for less serious offenses, I consider such breaches of my personal information, not to mention the inconvenience of being called when I am in the middle of something important, a serious offence.

I went as far as to send the Information Regulator a list of some of the spam calls. I’m not holding my breath; I’ll turn blue and pass out.

Similarly, the CPA regulates when cold callers can pick up the phone, as well as under which circumstances.

According to that piece of legislation, consumers can opt out.

But, it also requires that consumers are asked if they want to opt in.

And “no” is a full sentence. At the same time, it indirectly means that consumers would already have done some sort of business with the company, given that POPIA prevents the selling of lists.

(As an aside, it also calls for contracts to be in plain and simple language. I have never read a more convoluted piece of legislation that took ages to understand despite my law degree.)

I’ve never done “business” with some of these companies and, with some, the last time I had any sort of relationship with them was more than a decade ago.

I don’t know whether it’s even worth commenting, since current laws aren’t enforced, or whether we should take the festive season holidays to spam the dtic. Ironic, isn’t it.

Nicola Mawson is a freelance PR strategist, content creator, and financial journalist.

Nicola Mawson is a freelance PR strategist, content creator, and financial journalist.

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