A bill soon to be studied in the National Assembly could lead to an end to non-consented telephone canvassing. A revolutionary measure which should delight and relieve more than one consumer.
You have probably already found yourself in this situation. The phone rings, you answer, and on the line a salesperson offers you to sign up for an ‘advantageous’ energy contract or another urges you to change mobile operator. In this situation, you either have time to respectfully respond that you’re not interested, or you hang up without bothering to say a word.
Telephone canvassing can be annoying, especially when it occurs at difficult times. Thus, since 2022, the State has taken measures and set the days and times during which calls are authorized. From then on, you are able to be contacted from Monday to Friday, except public holidays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Furthermore, the frequency of canvassing of the same consumer is limited to 4 times every 30 days, specifies the website of the Ministry of the Economy. But why not imagine an end to cold calling in France?
Ban on cold calling: a future law to be debated
In any case, this is what will play out from Monday January 27 in the National Assembly. Following a bill tabled last October by EPR (Together for the Republic) MP Thomas Cazenave, the practice could well be banned. The text of the law aims firstly to fight “against all public aid fraud” particularly those linked to energy renovation and ecological energies, ensures Le Figaro. Secondly, it covers the bases of a law called “for consented telephone canvassing”adopted unanimously by the Senate on November 14.
A text which proposes “the prohibition on approaching by telephone a consumer who has not previously expressed their consent to be the subject of commercial prospecting by this means (except in the context of the execution of a current contract)”. Concretely, the idea is to prioritize consumer consent. Since today it is up to him to signal his opposition to being called when he is on a call. Thus, the future law would require the consumer to be able to first give their consent to be called.
Is cold calling experiencing its last hours? For the moment nothing is decided. MEPs will have to face the concerns of the direct selling sector which is already announcing massive job losses if the future law comes into force. One thing is certain, thousands of French people could be satisfied with the end of this practice. If the law is adopted, consumer consent may be requested in the same way as promotional emails. That is to say via a check box on a website to authorize the company to contact you again.