Charity telemarketers will no longer be allowed to call existing donors without first checking that they are registered on the Telephone Preference Service, after the data regulator demanded a change of Institute of Fundraising rules.
The move follows concerns raised by the ICO that fundraisers who called existing donors who were on the TPS were in breach of the Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations and could face enforcement action, with fines of up £500,000.
Now, telemarketers will have to run their donor data against the TPS and Corporate TPS every time they make a call; only supporters who have specifically notified that they are happy to get a call can be contacted.
However, the new rules have triggered IoF fears that the change could have a significant effect on charities’ incomes.
IoF head of policy and research Daniel Fluskey said: “While it is, of course, crucial that all charities fundraise according to the law, we are really concerned about charities not being able to contact individuals who have existing and long-standing relationships with charities – this will have a severe and significant impact on the amount of money that charities can raise, and will threaten the sustainability of some organisations.”
But in a statement, the IoF said: “With these changes being specifically requested by the Information Commissioner’s Office, we recommend that all organisations take steps to ensure that they act accordingly with the new changes as soon as possible.”
4 Comments on "Charities rocked by ICO call demands"
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Charities rocked by ICO call demands http://t.co/HlzkB3px22 #telemarketing #charities #CRM #directmarketing #data http://t.co/dNPd18ORwm
Charity telemarketers will no longer be able to call existing donors without first checking TPS http://t.co/vJDuOXn7qh
How does this affect #charities ? http://t.co/Gq1L7GMVEl
That’s just wiped out 21,237,824 potential donors!
Stat Ref –> http://www.tpsservices.co.uk/tps-list-history.aspx