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Individual and Corporate Telephone Preference Services - what you don't know could hurt you

How many businesses actually know about TPS and CTPS? It certainly has not been widely publicized.

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) are the central opt out registers where businesses and individuals register their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing calls.

The implications are all too clear - ring a registered business (including charities and voluntary organizations) or individual to promote a service, product, in fact anything, and you may be fined up to £5000 for EACH AND EVERY registered business or individual contacted.

How are you supposed to know who can be contacted and who can't?

For a monthly fee some organizations provide a register of those businesses that have enrolled on TPS. It's a simple screening process - before a call is made to a business or individual their name is entered and the TPS status is shown.

Obviously the implications for direct marketing are far reaching.

For more information it is advisable to review the Regulations that dictate this new legal requirement - visit the Information Commissioner's Office website, or look at the Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 - the respective website addresses are as follows:

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

www.hmso.gov.uk