What is the Telephone Preference Service?

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and its’ business equivalent the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) are services that exist whereby individuals and businesses can opt out of receiving direct sales and marketing calls.  This service works by subscribers registering all or some of their telephone numbers.  It is only these telephone numbers that are subject to TPS and CTPS regulations not the organisation as a whole.

The TPS includes consumers, sole traders, and partnerships and the CTPS includes businesses, schools, government departments and agencies, hospitals and other public bodies.

For simplicity, we’ll just say TPS from now on but it incorporates CTPS as well for this article.

Who needs to comply with the Regulations?

All those in business (including charities and voluntary organisations) who make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to individual or corporate subscribers need to comply with the regulations.

An exception is that you are still allowed to call your customer even if they have subscribed to the TPS service as long as they have indicated to you that they do not object to your sales and marketing telephone calls.

In addition, purely market research calls are excluded from these regulations.

What are the penalties?

Around 15 million UK telephone subscribers have opted NOT to receive unsolicited sales calls. That's residential AND business subscribers.

So that’s a lot of registered numbers!  And for each offence, you could face a £5,000 fine - for each call! 

The regulations are enforced by The Information Commissioner’s Office.  The ICO is the UK's independent public body and is sponsored by The Ministry of Justice.

So a relatively simple mistake could prove very costly to your business! 

How often do I need to clean my data?

Given that the lead time between registering and it being fully effective is 28 days, you need to check your data every 28 days or less.  For example…if you check a number on 1st November…you have 28 days to contact them.  If you haven’t got through to them, and want to continue trying, you will need to check the number again on 28th November.

As a business, how can you ensure compliance to the TPS and CTPS regulations?

We have made a special arrangement with a company called Selectabase who provide the software free of charge so you only need to buy the credits (1 credit = 1 telephone number check).  To get this software and to buy credits, please contact David Nye and quote “Charlotte Greenman, Accredited Marketing Ltd” and he will also provide free checks as a special offer to you.

Typical Scenarios for CTPS/TPS checking

1. Do I need to CTPS/TPS check my existing or old Clients?  No – You have done business with them and they have agreed for you to contact them.
2. I have bought a database; do I need to CTPS/TPS check it before calling?  Yes – They have not requested a call from you so contacting them is technically an unsolicited call, therefore a check is needed.
3. I have had an enquiry from someone who has called me; do I need to CTPS/TPS check it if I want to contact them?  No – They have contacted you and asked for a call back, even if it was years ago. 
4. I have called someone and they have told me to call another number, do I need to CTPS/TPS check it before I call the new number?  No – If someone has given you another number to call and they have said it’s ok to call it you don’t need to check it.  (It’s always good to get their name so that you can mention it when calling the new number).
5. Someone has given me a referral; do I need to CTPS/TPS check the number?  No – They have asked for a call from you through a 3rd Party so no check is needed.
6. I have CTPS/TPS checked a company but not managed to contacted them within 28 days of the check date, do I need to check them again?  Yes – The CTPS/TPS check only lasts for 28 days so on day 29, you need to check the number again which will last for the next 28 days.  Once you have contacted the company and they have agreed to be contacted again, you no longer need to check the number.
7. I’ve got a company’s details from an event or meeting.  Do I need to CTPS/TPS check the number before calling them if I didn’t speak to them?  Yes – if you did not get their permission for you to call them, you will need to check the number.
8. I’ve met and talked to someone at an event or meeting and they gave me their details.  Do I need to CTPS/TPS check the number before calling them?  No – If you met someone and they gave you permission to contact them (e.g. if they have an enquiry, agreed to keep in touch or receive information from you) then you do not need to check the number.
9. Someone has asked for information by email/post (or other media), do I need to CTPS/TPS check the number if I want to follow it up with a phone call?  No – they have asked to be contacted by you so that includes using the phone.
10. I have got some companies I want to target from the local business pages, a directory or off the internet.  Do I need to CTPS/TPS check the numbers before I call?  Yes - They have not requested a call from you so contacting them is technically an unsolicited call, therefore a check is needed.

If you have any other scenario that you would like to clarify as to whether you need to CTPS/TPS check it, please do not hesitate to contact us as we’d be delighted to help.  As a rule, if in doubt, always check the number.

To get Easycheck software, please contact David Nye at Selectabase.
Tel: 01304 382211 ext. 103 or email david.nye@selectabase.co.uk

Please Contact us if you have any questions and we’d be happy to help.

Article approved by TPS Online   

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