Good news! The Senate has just adopted a bill aimed at prohibiting all telephone canvassing until the consumer has given their consent. You will finally be at peace!
Even though it is a practice as old as time, cold calling can quickly transform our daily lives into real hell, especially when it turns out to be abusive. Customer service that calls every day – even at odd hours –, an organization that contacts you after you have used an insurance comparator, but also scams that ask us to renew our vital card by SMS… Combined, all canvassing pollutes our daily lives and can be downright painful in the long run. And even if measures have already been taken by the Government to limit the inconvenience, the problem is far from being resolved.
Fortunately, Senator Pierre-Jean Verzelen (Les Indépendants) decided to take up the subject in order to pass a law to get rid of it definitively. This aims to strengthen existing tools: “The idea is to reverse the situation and adopt as a principle that every French person is considered to be opposed to being approached by telephone” he explains in an interview with West France. It was unanimously adopted by the Senate and will be transmitted to the National Assembly.
Telephone canvassing: a practice that remains as invasive as ever
According to a survey carried out by UFC-Que Choisir in October 2024, 97% of French people say they are annoyed by commercial canvassing. Faced with abuse by professionals and complaints from consumers and associations, the Government had already taken measures to limit the problems linked to telephone canvassing. So, since 1er January 2023, Arcep (the telecoms police) prohibits the use of numbers starting with 06 and 07 for canvassing, these prefixes being associated in people’s minds with mobile phones. They are therefore supposed to be reserved for individuals. Direct sellers must now use dedicated numbers so as not to mislead the consumer (see our article).
Well, that’s in theory. It turns out that commercial canvassing using mobile numbers in 06 or 07 is authorized under certain conditions, and precisely when the professionals who use their mobile number act as unique natural persons, and this, “whatever the purpose of the call or message”. In any case, 60% of companies controlled by the DGCCRF do not comply with the regulations. We are therefore currently far from being rid of this practice! And that’s without taking into account the notorious ineffectiveness of the Bloctel system!
Telephone canvassing: consent at the heart of the debate
The bill aims to require professionals to obtain prior “consent” from all consumers before being able to call them, and on a case-by-case basis. Pierre-Jean Verzelen’s text initially proposed creating a “dedicated consent list”a system which has proven itself in many European countries, first and foremost Germany, England and Portugal. However, given that this measure raised doubts as to its compatibility with the European regulation on personal data (GDPR), the Senate ultimately fell back on a more measured system, with alignment with the electronic canvassing regime.
In addition to the consumer’s consent, other exceptions may be considered for this prohibition: when the consumer “has explicitly consented to being approached by registering on a consent list”when canvassing “takes place within the framework of the execution of a current contract and is related to the subject of this contract”and finally when he “concerns the supply of newspapers, periodicals or magazines”.
To limit circumvention of this new regime, the Senate also adopted an amendment from the environmental group to prohibit companies from making the purchase of a good or service conditional on consent to cold calling. “It’s obvious that smart people will try by all means to get their customers to agree to canvassing”alerted Senator Mélanie Vogel. Other restrictive measures have also been adopted, such as reducing the frequency and times of calls authorized for canvassing, or strengthening sanctions for acts of abuse of weakness committed within the framework of this practice.
End of cold calling: a long process to undertake
Eleven associations have signed an open letter for this bill to be adopted, namely the ADEIC (Association for the defense and information of consumers), the AFOC (Association Force Ouvrière consommateurs), the ALLDC (Association Léo Lagrange for the defense of consumers), the CLCV (Confederation of housing and living conditions), the CNAFAL (National Council of Secular Family Associations), the CSF (Union Confederation of Families), Rural Families, Indecosa-CGT, the UFC-Que Choisir, the ULCC (Secular Union Consumer Citizens) and the UNAF (National Union of Family Associations).
Paving the way for a default ban on these practices would be a good thing “in order to finally put an end to the scourge of unwanted calls, guarantee consumers’ right to peace of mind and better protect them against scams and consumer disputes”. The UFC-Que Choisir also welcomes a “historic victory”, even if the thing is far from being confirmed.
Like any bill passed in the Senate, this one must still be debated and voted on in the same terms in the National Assembly, after which the Government must publish a decree. It is only at the end of this process that it can be applied.