Legal Questions and Answers by
Jonathan Stones of John Barkers
Question :-
We're getting bombarded with junk faxes. Requests for them to stop sending us the things are ignored.
Is there anything we can do?
Answer :-
I am aware of one instance in which a firm of solicitors became so annoyed about this problem that they threatened to prosecute the senders for theft - of their fax paper and electricity.
It would have been an interesting case but apparently the threat of action was enough to put a stop to the flow unsolicited material.
You could try that ploy. Alternatively many fax machines have a facility to block calls from specified numbers. Might be worthwhile having a look through your instruction manual.
The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Direct Marketing) regulations allow firms to register free of charge with a central database to prevent
unwanted faxes. The regulations, which came into force in May 1999, make it illegal to send unsolicited faxes. Fax-marketing or tele-marketing firms can face very large fines for persistent offences.
Anyone can avoid receiving unwanted fax or phone calls simply by registering with the central lists.
http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/ The telephone numbers are:
0845-070-0702 for the fax preference registration or
0845-070-0707 for the telephone preference registration.
Coming at it from the other direction, organisations engaged in direct marketing can get an information pack on the telephone preference scheme (tel: 01932-414161) or an information pack on the fax preference scheme (tel: 0171-766-4422).
Further information is available on the OFTEL web site at www.oftel.gov.uk/consumer/dqres599.htm
Having checked out the registration system, we can report that it is fully automated and takes just a couple of minutes to complete. We now wait to see how long it takes for the junk faxes to dry up!
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